Pedro is having a party

“We have to set an example: it's not consumerism, it's not going to restaurants, it's not traveling—it's not the best example for a public servant; it's not even riding around in big trucks. What's this about hanging around with a few bodyguards and now going… well, I'm not going to continue… All those things that cost a fortune, and designer clothes, and I don't know what, no, we come from a grassroots movement.” This was stated by President Claudia Sheinbaum on April 10th, and it's relevant given the lavish party with which union leader and Morena coordinator in the Chamber of Deputies, Pedro Haces, celebrated his sixtieth birthday.

Of course, legislators, like any human being, have the right to celebrate another year of life, which, when viewed in the countdown, is actually one year less. But there are ways to celebrate and places to celebrate; especially when it comes to a politician who is supposedly a co-religionist with the President of the Republic and, therefore, in solidarity with the austerity she advocates.

Representative Haces's celebration, attended by representatives from various political parties, was held at the exclusive private club Caroline's 400 inside the St. Regis Hotel, located on Paseo de Reforma. "Discover Caroline's 400, the new speakeasy in the heart of Mexico City, a space that evokes New York society from the Gilded Age," wrote Alex Ocaña, lifestyle editor for ¡Hola! México magazine. Caroline's restaurant, "where exclusivity comes to life," has limited access to members and offers high-end cuisine ranging in price from 320 to 9,900 pesos.

As far as I know, Mr. Haces, leader of the Autonomous Confederation of Workers and Employees of Mexico, is financially wealthy, so he can spend his money on whatever he sees fit or whatever gives him satisfaction, such as skipping the full chamber to travel to Madrid to attend the bullfights at the San Isidro fair last year. Or leaving his vote in the form of a hologram when the Constitutional Supremacy initiative was voted on, and he was in the United States—but his ghost was not—where he went to make a visit, like his monthly ones, to his Confederation's office in Washington, according to him. Although some have said his absence was due to his presence in New York for the final game of the World Series. (We'll talk about his helicopter trip—his work tool—with his boss Ricardo Monreal later.)

An example of how power transforms the personality of those who wield it is that the former advocate for popular causes, Senate President Gerardo Fernández Noroña, echoed the criticisms directed at his party colleague and responded thus: "Well, if it's my right, it's of no use. I travel however I want; I party however I want; I buy whatever I want; it's my money, it's the product of my labor, what does that have to do with public austerity policies? It has absolutely nothing to do with it. Now it turns out you have to live in a shantytown because you're part of the transformation movement." Neither so much as to burn the saint nor so much as to not shine it, dear senator, it's about following the line of austerity set by the president.

On one occasion, upon leaving an event, the aforementioned legislator hopped into a Swedish-brand pickup truck: "It's not mine; Volvo lent it to me," he said apologetically, "because mine has been in the shop, no exaggeration, for four months. Volvo is a great brand, but the spare parts come from Sweden." Hopefully, the part has already arrived so the senator can travel around in his own Volvo pickup truck. Long live comrade Fernández Noroña's pickup truck!