(CNN) -- The question is a serious one, and its answer has multiple political and security implications: Did a Mexican political party have agreements with organized crime, specifically the PRI which governed Mexico for 71 years? The way Mexican President Felipe Calderon answered this question when asked by New York Times reporters is creating quite a stir. Asked whether he fears that a victory by the PRI in next year's presidential elections may bring back a corrupt relationship with organized crime, Calderon, a member of the PAN, conceded that is one of his fears. "It depends on who" wins the elections, the president told the Times. "There are many in the PRI who agree with the (hard-line) policy I have, at least they say so in secret, while publicly they may say something else. There are many in the PRI who think the deals of the past would work now. I don't see what deal could be done, but that is the mentality many of them have. If that opinion prevails it would worry me."
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President Calderon suggests elections next year might give organized crime an opening
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Many in the opposition party "think the deals of the past would work now," he says
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"I don't consider it an appropriate statement for a head of state," an opposition leader says
His statement, made in February, was widely quoted by @placeholder newspapers.