Wal-Mart bribed to open store near Mexican pyramids
18 Dec 2012
US retail giant Wal-Mart bribed authorities in Mexico to alter zoning rules in Mexico City, so as to open a store in an area close to the ancient pyramids, an area that draws thousands of tourists from around the world, according to a new media probe.
Wal-Mart wanted to open a store in Elda Pineda's alfalfa field, just off the town's bustling main entrance and barely a mile from the pyramids, according to an investigation launched by The New York Times.
However, a 2003 zoning map prohibited commercial development on Pineda's field, which dashed Wal-Mart's hopes of owning a store that attracted around 250 visitors each hour.
Wal-Mart de Mexico had then paid a $52,000 bribe to go ahead with store plan, the newspaper report said.
As Wal-Mart thought the zoning map would not become law until it was published in a government newspaper, the company offered to arrange a bribe to the official in charge of the map for making slight variations in the zone plans.
Records show that the map was since altered and in its final version redrew the zoning for Pineda's field to accommodate Wal-Mart's store, the report said.
Wal-Mart de Mexico opened its store for Christmas 2004, affirming its emerging dominance in Mexico, the paper said.
While the issue generated much heat in the country, with protesters decrying the idea of a Wal-Mart so close to a cultural treasure, the story of the altered map remained a secret, the report added.