But the case brought by Salinas' successor and bitter foe, President Ernesto Zedillo, appears to be crumbling. That is exactly what Zedillo doesn't need right now. Keeping Carlos Salinas in disgrace has helped Zedillo divert Mexicans' attention away from an economic crisis that is only now easing. Though he never mentions Zedillo by name, Salinas repeats his contention that the peso crash resulted more from Zedillo's bungled devaluation than from the financial house of cards the Salinas government left behind. Sources who would know tell TIME that Zedillo pressured Mexico's two largest television networks last week not to air reports on the Salinas interview in their nightly newscasts.
Presidential aides deny any such act of persuasion.
But Mexican fears about Salinas rearing his balding head again are probably exaggerated. The Mexican system doesn't allow that for former Presidents. He wants to clean his name. And if all Salinas ever gets is a last word, it will at least be more than Porfirio Diaz got.