ASSASSINATED MEXICAN'S BROTHER RUNS IN HIS PLACE

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico- The brother of a gubernatorial candidate
assassinated in northern Mexico was named on Wednesday to run as his
replacement in this weekend's election.

Egidio Torre, older brother of slain candidate Rodolfo Torre, said he
consulted with his family before agreeing to fill in as the
Institutional Revolutionary Party's candidate for governor of
Tamaulipas state, across the border from Texas.

"I have accepted to be the substitute candidate for governor of the
state of Tamaulipas despite the profound pain," Mr. Torre said at a
news conference. "I'm inspired by my brother's death."

Egidio Torre, a 53-year-old engineer and real-estate developer with
little political experience, said he wants to fulfill his brother's
campaign promises. "All Tamaulipans have to preserve his aspirations
and keep alive the dream presented by an extraordinary man," he said.

Gunmen ambushed Rodolfo Torre's vehicle on Monday as he headed to the
airport in Ciudad Victoria, capital of Tamaulipas.

Rodolfo Torre, whose name will appear on Sunday's ballots, was seen as
the front-runner in the Tamaulipas governor's contest.

Eleven other Mexican states will also elect governors on Sunday, amid
a wave of attacks and threats from organized crime against
politicians.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said Rodolfo Torre's slaying was an
attempt by drug gangs to sway local and state elections. State
authorities investigating the attack have made no arrests and haven't
determined a motive for the killings.

Rodolfo Torre was the first gubernatorial candidate assassinated in
Mexico in recent memory.

He was the highest-ranking candidate killed since Luis Donaldo
Colosio, also a member of the PRI, was gunned down while running for
president in 1994.