Horse-riding Mexican governor vows to go tough on crime
Jaime Rodriguez Calderon takes oath as governor of border state of Nuevo Leon after winning as an independent.
Mexico’s first ever independent governor has been sworn in the northern border state of Nuevo Leon.
Jaime Rodriguez Calderon will run the key industrial state, and he has vowed to eradicate corruption and crime.
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Calderon, also known as “El Bronco” is a tough-talking rancher, who fought crime when he was mayor of Garcia in the outskirts of the state capital Monterrey.
As mayor, he survived two assassination attempts by the Zetas Cartel.
The death of his 22-year-old son, who was killed when drug traffickers tried to kidnap him, prompted Calderon to lead a movement against criminals.
He has also tapped into online social networks like Facebook to recruit volunteers in his fight.
Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman reports from Nuevo Leon.