Guilty

Ending a blockbuster trial, a judge convicted the elder brother of Mexico's former President of ordering the murder of a top politician a...

Ending a blockbuster trial, a judge convicted the elder brother of Mexico8217;s former President of ordering the murder of a top politician and sentenced him to 50 years in prison. Raul Salinas de Gortari, brother of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, was convicted and sentenced for the 1994 murder of Jose Francisco Ruiz Massieu, a leader of the ruling institutional revolutionary party who also was his former brother-in-law. Raul Salinas also was convicted of unrelated counts of using false documents and making false declarations. 8220;It couldn8217;t have been any worse,8221; said Juan Velazquez, an attorney for the Salinas family, who said the family plans to appeal. Prosecutors have suggested that Raul Salinas saw Ruiz Massieu as a threat to the Salinas family8217;s political power. They also said there was bad blood stemming from Ruiz Massieu8217;s divorce from the Salinas8217; sister. The case has dragged on since Raul Salinas8217; arrest four years ago, and the evidence presented filled 42 bound books. Raul Salinas has been held in amaximum security prison near Mexico City. The Salinas trial was the highest-profile murder case in modern Mexican history, and broke a long taboo against prosecuting the relatives of powerful politicians. Shortly after his brother8217;s arrest and in the wake of Mexico8217;s economic collapse, Carlos Salinas left the country and now lives in self-imposed exile in Ireland.

History

French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, best known for his contention that the Nazi gas chambers were 8220;a detail of history8221;, faces his worst political crisis ever this weekend the bust-up of his National Front. His onetime would-be successor Bruno Megret, slight, intense and 21 years his junior, has convened a rebel party conference in southern Marignane that will produce a second National Front.

But while the move will create more confusion for voters on France8217;s already tortured political map, Le Pen is unlikely to emerge the loser in the short-term or become a detail of history8217; of the French extremist right. The big,blustery politician has a history of populist support built on a charisma that the 49-year-old Megret, with his quiet ways and shy speech, will find difficult to match.

Polls released since Brutus8217; Megret openly challenged Caesar8217; Le Pen for the Front8217;s top seat last December give the 70-year-old leader of France8217;s third biggest party the lion8217;s share of grassroots support.

Argument

Dale BUMPERS, a former Democratic senator who gave the CLOSING argument for the defence in President Bill Clinton8217;s trial, combined humour, passion and political savvy to try and convince his former colleagues not to impeach the President. Bumpers, who left the Senate at the beginning of the year, electrified his former colleagues who have listened for six days to painstakingly developed arguments by a brigade of lawyers.

Impeachment would be a cruel and unusual punishment for the charges brought against the President, Bumpers said. 8220;You8217;re here today because the President suffered a terrible moral lapse, amarital infidelity. Not a breach of the public trust, not a crime against society,8221; an emotional Bumpers told the senators after reminding them of his 25-year friendship with Clinton. 8220;You can8217;t convict. You can8217;t convict,8221; repeated Bumpers.

The Senate can vote to reprimand the President or hand the matter over to a prosecutor for Clinton to be tried when his term ends, the former senator pointed out. 8220;But if you vote to convict, you can8217;t be sure what8217;s going to happen,quot; said Bumpers. Impeaching Clinton is 8220;dangerous to the political process8221; and he should be acquitted and allowed to serve the remaining two years of his term, argued Bumpers, who has been called the White House8217;s secret weapon.

Visiting

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Hundreds of Roman Catholic bishops from throughout the Americas joined thousands of faithful converging on Mexico City on Thursday to welcome Pope John Paul II on his fourth visit to this passionately devout nation. Among them were several dozen totonaco Indians from the rugged mountains ofMexico8217;s Sierra Norte, preparing for a rough, six-hour weekend pilgrimage over treacherous roads for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Pope.

Tickets to the Pope8217;s appearances this weekend are scarce, with each parish receiving between a handful and 100, so the totonacos chosen to go considered themselves blessed already. 8220;May the Pope help me to support my family,8221; said Susana Tirzotirzo, 21, selected along with 800,000 others across the continent to see John Paul celebrate a Sunday mass at a Mexico City racetrack. Mexicans feel a special closeness to the Pope 8212; and the Pope to Mexico 8212; because of his devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe, whose image adorns everything from construction sites to government offices.