Guillermo Mercado Romero (born 1 March 1938) is a Mexican politician who served as the Governor of Baja California Sur from 1993 to 1999. He is a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).[2] He also served in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.[1]
Guillermo Mercado Romero | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Baja California Sur | |
| In office April 5, 1993 – April 4, 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Víctor Manuel Liceaga Ruibal |
| Succeeded by | Leonel Cota Montaño |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 March 1938 La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico[1] |
| Political party | PRI |
| Spouse | María Concepción Casas |
| Alma mater | University of Guadalajara[1] |
| Occupation | politician |
Corruption charges
editMercado left office in 1999. In early 2001, Mercado and eighteen other former Mexican government officials were charged with diverting approximately $55 million in public funding.[2] Mercado was indicted for two charges: Mercado's gubernatorial administration was accused of purchasing airline tickets for official government travel through a travel agency owned by his wife and daughter.[2] Second, Mercado was also charged with improperly transferring ownership of public land to a private research institute during his tenure as governor.[2]
Mercado's wife, Maria Concepcion Casas de Mercado, owned a condo in San Diego, California, which she sold in January 2001 for $330,000.[2] She then purchased a new home in El Cajon, California, in February 2001, just one month later, for $188,000.[2] In June 2001, U.S. immigration agents questioned Mercado at his home in El Cajon to determine his legal status.[2] Mercado showed the investigators a valid pilot's license and Social Security card as proof that he was in the United States legally.[2] Mercado also had a visa, which allows Mexicans living near the U.S. border to travel up to 25 miles inside the U.S. for up to three days.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c Camp, Roderic Ai (2011). Mexican Political Biographies, 1935-2009: Fourth Edition. University of Texas Press. p. 633. ISBN 9780292726345.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Fugitive ex-Mexican governor found". The Record (Stockton). Associated Press. 2001-09-20. Archived from the original on 2019-12-11. Retrieved 2012-03-08.