The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, responded this Monday to the intellectuals who repudiated him for publishing personal information of the academic María Amparo Casar and whom he accused of collecting a supposedly illegal millionaire pension.
«All the elements were misunderstood or not clear because there was even a manifesto from characters who are always against us. They are the undersigned in everything that means questioning ourselves, it is a group that was established in the neoliberal period, they were part of the corruption,” the president explained during his press conference.
Casar is a renowned intellectual of the Mexican right and current president of Mexicans against Corruption and Impunity, a journalistic organization opposed to the president, who often criticizes her, considering that she only responds to “spurious” interests of conservatives.
🔴After the @GobiernoMX made public documents with personal data of María Amparo Casar and her late husband, the president @lopezobrador_ He says that “it was misunderstood”, he criticized those who signed a manifesto rejecting the fact and pointed out that “they are against his… pic.twitter.com/hChjWfJnoc
— Political Animal (@Pajaropolitico) May 6, 2024
López Obrador surprised last Friday by stating during his usual morning meeting with the press that Casar received an illegal pension from the state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) for two decades.
This right was based on the death of her husband, Carlos Fernando Márquez Padilla, who died on October 7 after falling from the 14th floor of the Pemex tower, where he worked as an advisor coordinator.
The case was closed as suicide, which is why, according to the Government, Casar was not entitled to a pension, but it was granted to him as if it had been a work accident and he received it monthly until last February.
Wow. Now him @GobiernoMX has even created a microsite with the case of Mario Amparo Casar’s husband.
And he has published more than 300 documents, most of them private.
Yes. From an official federal government account…
— Arturo Ángel (@arturoangel20) May 3, 2024
In an unprecedented manner, in the afternoon the Presidency published on a website all the documentation of the Márquez Padilla case, including addresses of the victim, Casar and his children, the death certificate, bank documents and official identifications.
The scandal was immediate, since once again it is the president himself who reveals personal data of citizens.
One of the most recent cases was that of Natalie Kitroeff, a journalist for The New York Times, since López Obrador publicly and repeatedly made her telephone number known.
Reactions
Hundreds of Mexican intellectuals who were opponents or critics of López Obrador released several statements and public letters to defend Casar and repudiate the president.
He @iwfmexico stands in solidarity with @amparocasar y @CeciPatriciaF in the face of the attacks from the National Palace where they seek to affect the name, reputation, honor, private life and social consideration of two exemplary Mexicans. pic.twitter.com/SpePnYcHDC
— Mexicans Against Corruption (@MXvsCORRUPCION) May 5, 2024
Using the death of a family member to vilify a citizen from power is an act of vulgar and cowardly authoritarianism…
Using the power of the State to disseminate personal data is a deranged act that borders on totalitarianism.
My solidarity with @amparocasar
¡Ya basta! pic.twitter.com/PYKijvkLGa
— Lorenzo Córdova V. (@lorenzocordovav) May 4, 2024
«A family tragedy that occurred 20 years ago has been used to punish criticism and attack freedom of expression. Our solidarity with María Amparo Casar in the face of the abuse of power that comes against her, basically against everyone, from the Palace,” they denounced in one of the writings, remembering that this is not the first time that the president uses the ‘morning’ to defame to his adversaries.
«In his desire to take personal revenge against a citizen who has seriously and critically analyzed numerous abuses of the current government, the president breaks several laws, further strains the public debate less than a month before the elections and hurts a family », they lamented.
INAI begins ex officio investigation for disclosure of #Personal information who was President of the “Márquez Padilla” case.
— INAI (@INAImexico) May 4, 2024
Casar, for his part, warned that López Obrador’s accusation is actually “clear revenge” for the investigations of the organization he presides and in which several cases of Government corruption have been reported.
“The president lies and shows me the vileness, the vileness and the use of the State apparatus towards a citizen,” he said.
Questioning of the president continued over the weekend. The National Institute of Access to Information (INAI), for example, announced the start of an ex officio investigation into the improper dissemination of personal data.
Attack
López Obrador assured this Monday that only the “organic intellectuals” of conservatism criticize him.
“Instead of getting to the bottom of whether there was corruption or not, they turn to the INAI to say: ‘privacy was violated’, as if corruption were valid as long as it is kept secret,” he said.
He also clarified that the scandal helps society know the limits of those who for a long time lied when describing themselves as “independents”, “members of civil society” and “academics without a party.”
«Conservatism considers corruption normal when it comes to them because its doctrine is hypocrisy, there is a kind of alienation in maintaining that if they are the corrupt ones, they have a license, they can do it. Or they do it consciously and are ‘cynical’,” he accused.
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2024-05-06 23:22:16
