The head of Mexico's teachers' union and one of the country's most powerful women has been charged with embezzling up to $200 million to fund a lavish lifestyle of shopping sprees and plastic surgery, officials said. Elba Esther Gordillo, who wielded enormous political clout and was entrusted with union funds, was arraigned Wednesday after being arrested a day earlier at the Toluca airport some 60 kilometers (about 35 miles) west of the Mexican capital.

The head of Mexico's teachers' union and one of the country's most powerful women has been charged with embezzling up to $200 million to fund a lavish lifestyle of shopping sprees and plastic surgery, officials said. Elba Esther Gordillo, who wielded enormous political clout and was entrusted with union funds, was arrested Tuesday at the Toluca airport some 60 kilometers (about 35 miles) west of the Mexican capital. Attorney General Jose Murillo Karam told reporters that she was arrested after the Finance Ministry detected unusual transactions in union bank accounts.

* Arrest of Gordillo a statement of intent by new government * Pena Nieto took office pledging to rid PRI of corruption By Dave Graham MEXICO CITY, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The arrest of Mexico's best-known trade union leader on fraud charges has thrown down the gauntlet to powerful interests standing between President Enrique Pena Nieto and his plans to shake up Latin America's second-biggest economy.