Mexico City Targets Bad Drivers, Police Corruption (2/3)

But critics, including many city motorists, are skeptical. Arturo is one of them. He says the new laws will only hurt those who have to drive and will do little to protect the public.

He also sees it as a way for the local government of the Federal District, which comprises Mexico City, to take in more revenue" class="hjdict" word="revenue" target=_blank>revenue. The Federal District is controlled by the left-leaning Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD. Its opponents see the new laws, with their stiff fines, as a way for the PRD to gain more money for its political agenda.

That view is based, to some extent, on actions taken by the city government last year in support of PRD militants who blocked major avenues in the city center to protest alleged election fraud. They claimed Calderon had won his narrow victory over PRD candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador through vote manipulation and corruption in the Federal Electoral Institute.

Instead of enforcing the law and preventing the demonstrators from blocking streets, the city government accommodated them and spent public funds in support of their encampment that lasted for several weeks.