(Adds president's reaction, politician's office) MEXICO CITY, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Gunmen killed a leading state congressman outside his house in southern Mexico on Thursday in a suspected drug gang attack. Armando Chavarria, the head of the Guerrero state legislature, was shot inside his car in the town of Chilpancingo, Mexican media reported. President Felipe Calderon condemned the attack and ordered federal investigators to help track down the killers, the president's office said in a statement. Chavarria, a member of leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, had been tipped to run for governor in 2011. Guerrero, home to the Pacific resort of Acapulco, is a poor mountainous state that has been hit by drug killings in recent years and also has a history of political violence. In June, 18 people were killed in a shootout between drug traffickers and soldiers near tourist hotels in Acapulco. Calderon launched an offensive against drug smuggling in 2006, sending thousands of troops to try to crush gangs. More than 13,000 people have been killed since then, mostly in clashes between rival gangs. (Reporting by Cyntia Barrera Diaz and Jason Lange; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Workers at Volkswagen AG's Mexican plant arrives for wage negotiations between the union and the company at the Labour Ministry in Mexico City August 20, 2009. Workers went on strike on ...
