But American borders stil open and Bush still unscathed…<\/p>\n
Mexico’s Fox falls from grace amid corruption probe MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Former Mexican President Vicente Fox always delighted in his image as an honest rancher but his reputation is sagging amid a corruption probe and fierce media scrutiny of his flashy cars and lavish lifestyle.<\/p>\n A charismatic figure who electrified Mexico by ending 71 years of corrupt one-party rule at elections in 2000, Fox is now being investigated by a congressional commission after he opened up his renovated ranch in central Mexico to a glossy society magazine.<\/p>\n The San Cristobal ranch, where paint once peeled from the walls, now boasts expensive furniture, remodeled rooms, a swimming pool and immaculately kept grounds with peacocks and deer.<\/p>\n Fox, who left office last December, also came under fire after a newspaper reported that a businessman gave his wife a decked-out Jeep Wrangler as a gift early in his term.<\/p>\n Several newspapers later reported that Fox was driving an expensive Hummer vehicle not registered under his name and which had been “lent” for free by a car firm to the presidential guard.<\/p>\n In a well-publicized humiliation, Fox was last week forced to hand it back after President Felipe Calderon, his successor and former energy minister, ordered an end to such loan deals.<\/p>\n Fox firmly denies any wrongdoing but the revelations have caused a furor in a country where half the population lives on $2 a day or less and tarnished the reputation of a man who promised in 2000 to end the corruption that flowered during 71 years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).<\/p>\n Protesters pulled down a statue of the former leader this month in the tropical state of Veracruz.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nWed Oct 24, 2007 2:49pm EDT<\/strong>By Pablo Garibian<\/p>\n