The New York Times highlights the luxuries of Morena members

MEXICO CITY (apro).- The controversy over the luxuries and million-dollar incomes of some members of Morena, the ruling party in Mexico, reached the front page of The New York Times, one of the most influential newspapers in the United States.

Under the headline "Morena, Mexico's ruling party, in trouble over some members' spending," the newspaper highlighted the recent scandal surrounding trips to Europe and Asia by ruling party officials, as well as legislators and members of President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo's cabinet. Sheinbaum has echoed the "austerity" rhetoric inherited from her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The text signed by James Wagner underscored the contradiction between the party's rhetoric of "for the good of all, the poor first" and the actions of some of its representatives, who in recent months have traveled abroad and stayed in luxury hotels or earned "millions of pesos in income abroad."

He added: “The disconnect between the public statements of Morena officials and the lifestyles of certain politicians has created a storm in Mexico—and frustration among Mexicans—that, voters and analysts said, could have a lasting effect.” He recalled President Sheinbaum’s response to criticism: “Who judges us? The people.”

The New York Times highlighted the case of the son of the Tabasco native, currently the Organization Secretary of Morena: “Andrés Manuel López Beltrán allegedly spent nearly $2,600 at a hotel restaurant in Tokyo.”

He also mentioned the case of Senator Adán Augusto López Hernández, former leader of the Morena party, who reportedly received nearly $4.3 million in private income between 2023 and 2024.

She also included trips by the Secretary of Public Education, Mario Delgado Carrillo, to Portugal and by the leader of Morena in the Chamber of Deputies, Ricardo Monreal, to Spain, cases that led Sheinbaum to say that officials had the right to "take vacations with personal funds."

He even spoke about the controversy surrounding Gerardo Fernández Noroña, a member of the PT, and the multi-million dollar purchase of his house in Tepoztlán, Morelos.

In the article, the NYT stated that "the Morena party did not respond to a request for comment," nor did Monreal and Delgado.

During his term, López Obrador repeatedly criticized The New York Times' publications about Mexico and its government.