MEXICO CITY, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Friday said Mexico must make the fight against international corruption a "priority" following the country's lack of concrete measures over the past 19 years.
As the country's economy is export-oriented, the fight against international bribery is a great concern, said an OECD statement.
According to the Paris-based organization, traditional export sectors, such as mining or agriculture, are particularly exposed to corruption.
The comments come following the Phase 4 review of Mexico's application to the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, aiming at stopping the bribery of foreign public officials.
The OECD recommended that Mexico should adopt, "with urgency," recently passed constitutional reforms to create a national anti-corruption system.
The statement called particular attention to "the selection of an anti-corruption prosecutor, the designation of magistrates to the Federal Court of Administrative Justice and the selection of the attorney general in accordance with the new constitutional mechanisms."
Mexico's president-elect, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, scheduled to take office on Dec. 1, has promised to launch a "crusade" against corruption.
Organizations representing Mexican businesses claim that 8 to 10 percent of the annual gross domestic product is lost to corruption each year.
