Powerful Mexican oil union boss who became symbol of corruption dies at 79
By Dave Graham
MEXICO CITY, October 20 (Reuters) — Carlos Romero Deschamps, the former longtime and controversial leader of Mexico's oil workers' union and politician, has died at the age of 79, officials confirmed on Friday.
Local media reported that Romero Deschamps died of a heart attack on Thursday.
A stalwart of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which dominated Mexico in the 20th century, Romero Deschamps used his connections to become an influential powerbroker and accrue substantial wealth that many said was ill-gotten.
The union boss' tenure as head of the main union for employees of national oil company Pemex came to an end in late 2019 when he abruptly resigned his post.
Days earlier, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that Romero Deschamps was under criminal investigation for corruption, allegations which he denied and was never prosecuted for.
Romero Deschamps, who served four terms as leader of the more than 100,000-member union, one of the largest in Latin America, defended his record, pointing to positive changes for workers that include improvements in pensions and healthcare, as well as salary increases.
Romero Deschamps was elected to Mexico's Senate for a six-year term in 2012, just as the PRI's Enrique Pena Nieto recaptured the presidency, returning the centrist party back to power after a dozen years on the sidelines.
It was the sixth time Romero Deschamps had been a federal lawmaker, having previously served three times in Mexico's lower house of Congress, and twice in the Senate.
'PEMEXGATE'
A licensed accountant, Romero Deschamps was born on January 17, 1943, in the port city of Tampico, Tamaulipas state, and he began his career in the union in the central state of
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