Mexico postal service gets hot-pink makeover

MEXICO CITY — Mexico's notoriously unreliable postal service is getting the shock treatment — shocking pink, that is.

Infamous for lost packages and tardy delivery, the postal service is getting a hot-pink makeover to try to brighten up its image, win back customers — and pull it out of the red.

Changes include a new logo, new uniforms and pink-and-lime-green painted post offices. Some will also sell cut-rate rice, beans and powdered milk alongside stamps. Coffee mugs and envelopes — something the post office didn't sell before — will also be available, but only in hot pink and lime green.

The service's new symbol — a white carrier pigeon holding a letter in its beak — hit the streets Tuesday, a day after President Felipe Calderón unveiled the new look at a gala ceremony.

The new name, Correos de México, or Mexican Mail, is actually a throwback to the days of the early 20th century, when the service was trusted and the government built a main post office meant to look like a Renaissance palace.

Mexico's postal service delivers only about seven pieces of mail per inhabitant per year; Americans get an average of 700.

The low volume reflects a lack of confidence. Federal officials acknowledge most businesses won't send bills, statements or receipts through the mail, preferring pricey but safer private courier services, about 4,000 of which have sprung up here, according to industry estimates.

In 2003, police captured a gang of thieves who stole thousands of U.S. Social Security checks bound for retired workers in Mexico. And in February, legislators demanded a federal investigation after police found several tons of opened and undelivered letters, most from the United States, at a home in the border town of Ciudad Juarez. Three postal workers were charged with stealing the correspondence, some of which dated back to the 1990s.

The government hopes the new image and services will help the post office break even next year, after annual losses of up to $50 million.

The trendy new color scheme was chosen because "we want to be very visible ... in colors as brilliant, as vibrant as Mexico," said Purificación Carpinteyro, who oversaw the remake and wore a hot-pink dress to Monday's ceremony.