Buenas tardes!
It’s been a leaky week! After AMLO asked for Lozoya's case information to be made public, a video and Lozoya's full testimony magically surfaced. The scandalous video, rivaling Kim K’s home-made tape, shows Stacks on Stacks of pesos used for the alleged bribery. The testimony adds ex-President Carlos Salinas de Gortari to the ever growing list of politicians accused. Lopez Obrador has now added a second item to his wish list - read the next section to find out. Will new information surface? Will there be search warrants?
In other news, President Trump has a new idea to finance and build his border wall. We also share why private port operators in Mexico should be scared and the outcome of a sexist judge’s ruling on the sexual assault of a 10-year-old-girl.
Leaked evidence leads to a very awkward press conference
Bloomberg
On the last episode: former Pemex CEO, Emilio Lozoya testified on the Odebrecht corruption case and confirmed the existence of video evidence of the alleged crimes. President López Obrador suggested that the videos should be made public - even though they were evidence on an on-going case.
So what happened this week? On Monday morning, AMLO again asked the Attorney General to release the videos - quick reminder: the AG is independent from the executive branch. And guess what? The videos, released a day before, went viral on Youtube. On Tuesday morning, AMLO showed the video at his press conference - its authenticity has yet to be proven, but who cares about due process? The four minute video shows a former aide to a PAN senator receiving, and struggling to count, several suitcase sized bricks of cash. They were allegedly a bribe for his boss's support. That senator, Francisco Domínguez, is now the Governor of Querétaro, who (wait for it) had to attend Wednesday’s Press Conference as the President coincidentally had picked his state to visit. Clearly, López Obrador wasn’t having any of the governor’s explanations.
On Wednesday afternoon, Lozoya’s full testimony was revealed. Three former presidents and over a dozen ex-ministers and legislators were accused of bribery. Today, the president clarified that he wasn’t behind these leaks, he simply suggested them and added a new recommendation: guilty parties have to pay for damages. [Bloomberg/The Financial Times]
Trump’s Plan #37 to build a border wall with Mexico
You'd think that in the middle of a global pandemic and an economic crisis, President Donald Trump would focus his attention on pressing issues and not building a wall. No señor! He is trying to rally that Ann Coulter voters base again by proposing a toll on cars crossing the US-Mexico border (yes, this would technically include US citizens too). This news comes just days after it was reported by the Washington Post that the Trump Administration is seeking to build a floating border wall… a HUUGE beautiful floating wall. Don’t be surprised if Trump announces this at next week’s Republican National Convention, even after his former aide, Steve Bannon, was arrested on fraud charges in a border wall fundraising scheme. [Bloomberg]
Nationwide outcry over a child abuse case
After ruling that the sexual assault of a 10-year-old-girl did not constitute a crime because it was not for pleasure, the judge in Jalisco was suspended, but only after mass protests. On a similar note, the government agency for eradicating violence against women has a new director who is keen on fighting against femicide, even under strict austerity measures. [Reuters]
Mexican ports, AMLO’s new obsession
The Mexican President is relaxing at home on another boring quarantine day and decides to take a glance at his “Foreign Private Investments To-Do List”. Hand reads off a few of the items, some are already crossed out: A new Airport in Mexico City? Waste of money. An American Brewery? Never happening. A Brazilian Petrochemical Plant? Hasta la vista. Aha! The 100-year concession to a private company for the port of Veracruz? Not on my watch. Just like with previous battles with foreign companies, Hutchison Ports ICAVE, a subsidiary of a Hong Kong based company, will probably end up having to modify its contract or cancelling it all together. What’s next on my list? Railways. [Reuters]
'My spirit broken': Mexicans battle to ban conversion therapy (A Morena Senator hopes to approve a bill to ban conversion therapy nationwide… one of the few true progressive fights from the current leftist administration), Reuters
Mexican president volunteers to try Russian coronavirus vaccine (What do you do when the country you run will produce the AstraZeneca-Oxford covid-19 vaccine? You take the Russian version), Reuters
Kids Seeking Asylum Find Some Measure of It in One Makeshift School (A heartbreaking story of how the US/Mexico border shutdown halted a bi-national education project aimed at asylum seeker children), The New York Times
Mexico’s home-produced ventilator already in service (A ventilator typically takes four to six years to develop, but they did it in 10 weeks. Too risky?), The Washington Post
Bureaucracy, Politics, and Bad Translation: The Complex Saga of VisitMexico.com (The story behind the “big bear” of Mexico’s tourism website mistranslation), Slate
Mexico-based church leader ordered to stand trial on sex crime charges (A Mexican “Church” leader is being held by U.S. authorities on rape, human trafficking, and child pornography charges. Mexico has yet to make progress on its own investigation), Reuters
Mexican president’s son criticized for not wearing face mask (An increasing death doll, a free-fall economy and this is what the opposition focuses on), AP
Mexico moves to ban junk food sales to children, citing obesity as coronavirus risk factor (Tabasco joins Oaxaca in banning junk food sales to children, aligned with the federal government’s strategy of blaming industrialised food for Covid-19 deaths), Slate
Aeromexico Gets Preliminary Approval for $1 Billion Apollo Bankruptcy Loan (Mexico's flagship airline receives a necessary lifesaver to continue flying), The Wall Street Journal
Here are a few of our favorite tweets from top foreign correspondents in Mexico. Let us know yours by replying to this email.
David Luhnow, Latin America Editor for The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones
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AMLO’s quote: “Who forces them to steal? What? Did they want to win no matter the cost? ... Well, people get tired of so many f#ng scams"