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    As Mexico Probes a Presidential Candidate for Graft, Many Cry Foul

    As elections head up, Ricardo Anaya’s backers say the ruling party is trying to tarnish his reputation and sway the vote

    Ricardo Anaya, a leading Mexican presidential candidate, addressed supporters recently at a campaign rally in Monterrey.
    Ricardo Anaya, a leading Mexican presidential candidate, addressed supporters recently at a campaign rally in Monterrey. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
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    MEXICO CITY—A top candidate in July’s presidential election is facing a growing scandal from a real estate deal that investigators say has suspicious links to offshore banks in Turks and Caicos.

    But the real scandal, say the candidate, his supporters and some analysts, is the zeal with which the ruling party is using federal resources to pursue the case while tolerating widespread graft in government. These people say the ruling party’s true aim is to tarnish the candidate’s reputation and tilt the vote in its favor.

    The election is shaping up as a contest between Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a left-leaning populist, and whoever can best challenge him. Analysts say the ruling party wants that to be its own candidate, José Antonio Meade, now trailing a distant third. The alleged wrongdoer, Ricardo Anaya —who denies he did anything wrong—is polling in second place. Both support free trade and enterprise while Mr. López Obrador favors a greater state role in the economy.

    Under Mexican law, the attorney general’s office isn’t supposed to talk about ongoing investigations. But last week, it took the unusual step of announcing it was investigating Mr. Anaya’s deal on suspicions of money laundering. It has since issued three more public statements about the case, raided offices of a businessman tied to the deal, and even openly released a surveillance video of the candidate allegedly swearing about being investigated.

    “If the attorney general’s office has a case against Mr. Anaya, they should present it,” said Enrique Krauze, a prominent Mexican historian. “But this looks more like character assassination to discredit and derail his candidacy. It is an assault on a free and fair election.”

    In a news conference on Thursday, Attorney General Alberto Elías Beltrán denied the case was being politicized. “We are in no way acting in the context of an electoral period.”

    The ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party is hobbled by a perception among voters as Mexico’s most corrupt party. Its own internal candidates have such poor reputations that the party picked an outsider as its standard-bearer.

    As Mexico Probes a Presidential Candidate for Graft, Many Cry Foul

    Global Graft

    Mexico is rated among the world's most corrupt countries.

    Adherence to the rule of law

    Rank (out of 113) and score (out of 1)

    Denmark

    0.89

    1.

    U.K.

    11.

    0.81

    19.

    0.73

    U.S.

    44.

    0.59