RACE TO BE JUAREZ MAYOR: HECTOR MURGUIA'S 2ND BID FOCUSES ON
INCREASING CITY POLICE FORCE

EL PASO -- Hector Murguia wants to become mayor of Juarez for a second
time and run a city that is radically different from the one he headed
from 2004 to 2007.

If he wins, he will be at the helm of a city that has been tormented
with uncontrolled violence that has claimed the lives of more than
5,300 people and has become one of the most dangerous cities in the
world.

The main question is what will Murguia, 57, a member of the
Institutional Revolutionary Party known by its initials PRI, do to
regain control of a city that was once full of energy and offered
entertainment, mercados, shopping, dining and a lively nightlife.

Murguia, who is running against Cesar Jauregui of the National Action
Party or PAN, in the July 4 election said that a serious social
investment needs to be made in order to fix Juarez.

He wants to reform the way government collects taxes so more revenue
can be used in Juarez and not be sent to the state capital of Chihuahua.

"Cities like Juarez do not have the budgets we need," he
said.

By changing the tax law, police, schools, transportation and other
institutions can receive more money to rescue the city.

The majority of those killed in drug cartel attacks are young men
between 16 and 25 years old and officials said they join gangs at an
early age and drop out of school.

"We have a lot of kids and young men who live marginalized," he said.
"We don't have equal opportunities."

Murguia also wants to keep the large contingent of federal police in
Juarez that respond to shootings and kidnappings.

He wants to gradually increase the number of local police officers and
their salaries. He said that at least 7,000 police are needed to
patrol the city. Currently, Juarez has 3,000 police officers.

After Murguia left office in 2007, current Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz
publicly said that he inherited a city in which corruption was deeply
embedded in the local police. But he did not blame or point a finger
at Murguia.

Corruption did touch Murguia's administration.

In January 2008, U.S. authorities arrested Saulo Reyes Gamboa, who
Murguia appointed as a police director in January 2007. He pleaded
guilty and was sentenced to eight years in federal prison on drug
trafficking and bribery charges.

Why did Murguia appoint Reyes Gamboa as the director of
police?

It is simple, Murguia said.

Auto theft cases were increasing in Juarez. His own wife had her car
stolen, he said.

Reyes Gamboa held an executive position at Coparmex, the well-regarded
Mexican Employers' Association. The group presented a plan to reduce
the theft rate, and Murguia thought Reyes Gamboa could lead the effort
as a civilian on the police force.

"I never received a formal complaint on him when he was police
director," he said. "How in the world was I supposed to know that
three months after my administration, he was going to try to smuggle a
load of marijuana into the United States?"

Murguia, who graduated in 1976 as a chemical engineer from the elite
Tech de Monterrey, said that he will make sure his administration is
clean and free from corruption.

Murguia is known in Juarez as a businessman who owns several
properties, including two homes in Juarez, one in Mexico City, one in
Ruidoso and one in El Paso.

The El Paso Central Appraisal District has two properties under
Murguia and his wife's name valued at a total of $467,402. He bought
one on the West Side near El Paso Country Club in 1996, and one on the
East Side near Americas High School in 2008.

Murguia said he has lived all his life in Juarez, and that he will
continue to live in Juarez.

He also owns seven malls in Juarez, a paint factory, a ballroom and
other smaller businesses.

Last year, members of the PAN charged that Murguia was being
investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration for his ties with
drug cartels.

But DEA officials said there are no investigations focused on
Murguia.

Murguia first successfully ran for Mexico's Congress in 1994, and
became a senator.

In 2004, he became mayor of Juarez on a platform of improving
transportation and fighting prostitution in the sprawling border city.

During his administration, he developed a friendly relationship with
El Paso Mayor John Cook and opposed the reopening of the Asarco smelter.

He said the violence in Juarez does not intimidate him. "Threats will
always be there," he said. "What matters is to do things the right
way, not to get involved in dirty businesses and to make the best effort."