Mexico president backs away from constitutional change

MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s president is backing away from a plan that critics say could have helped quash investigations into government corruption on his watch.

President Enrique Pena Nieto has been backing a constitutional amendment to give the attorney general a fixed term that wouldn’t coincide with presidential terms. It’s meant to make prosecutors more independent of the presidency.

But critics complained that the measure was worded to let Pena Nieto’s current attorney general serve well into the next presidential administration. They fear that could dampen efforts to unearth any corruption taking place now.

Pena Nieto said in a statement Tuesday he was withdrawing that part of his plan, saying it wasn’t his idea in any case.