Former president of Mexico says he declared winner early.(Knight Ridder Newspapers) From: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service | Date: March 8, 2004| Author: Hayward, Susana | COPYRIGHT 2004 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Byline: Susana Hayward

MEXICO CITY _ Former Mexican President Miguel de La Madrid Hurtado has revealed that he ordered Carlos Salinas de Gortari declared the winner of the 1988 presidential election after his interior minister warned him that Salinas had lost in Mexico City and surrounding areas.

In a soon-to-be-released memoir, de la Madrid doesn't say that the election was fraudulent, but his version of how Salinas was selected is the closest yet to acknowle...