Mexico spy agencies tap president-elect's phone, says paper

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (Reuters) -- Mexican intelligence agencies tapped President-elect Vicente Fox's telephones during the July 2 election campaign and continue to spy on him since his victory, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

El Universal, recognised for its authoritative military and intelligence sources, said the spying was initially aimed at undermining Fox's campaign to be the first opposition candidate in seven decades to win a presidential ballot.

"Whatever they say, they got it on tape," an unnamed source in the intelligence services told the newspaper, providing it with a series of taped conversations between Fox and his main collaborators.

MESSAGE BOARD The Fox presidency

Tapping telephones is illegal in Mexico unless it is directed at fighting the drug trade and has been authorised by a judge.

Nevertheless, telephone-tapping and other forms of espionage against political opponents, suspected guerrillas and journalists were generally held to be widespread in Mexico under the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which governed for 71 years until it was defeated by Fox on July 2.

Officials at the Interior Ministry, responsible for overseeing the government's intelligence agencies, were not immediately available for comment.

In a statement to Universal, Fox of the conservative National Action Party (PAN) said "political espionage is a pernicious practice, used by discretional and repressive governments, and is a symbol of authoritarian governments."

Fox said "a mature society rejects and condemns these types of practices."

Yet it was apparent from at least one of the taped telephone conversations, published by El Universal, that Fox might not have been overly surprised at the spying revelation.

"No, not by telephone," he told his spokeswoman Martha Sahagun on one occasion, according to a transcript.

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