Zedillo challenges Sheinbaum to clarify AMLO's retirement benefits

Former President Ernesto Zedillo has once again ignited public debate , this time responding directly to Claudia Sheinbaum , who recently criticized him for his lifetime pension from the Bank of Mexico. In a letter published by journalist Azucena Uresti, Zedillo not only defended the legality of his income but also issued a direct challenge to the president: to clarify in detail the benefits enjoyed by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador after leaving office.

It all began when Sheinbaum revived old accusations about Fobaproa, an issue that has dogged Zedillo since the 1990s, to discredit his recent criticism of the judicial reform promoted by the current administration. The former president, without hesitation, retorted:

"We must demand that he clarify in detail the legal basis and the cost of the enormous benefits López Obrador enjoys in his simulated retirement at the expense of the public treasury."

This statement marks a shift in the tone of the exchange between the two leaders, moving beyond the symbolic and into the more directly fiscal and legal.

Zedillo didn't deny his pension, but emphasized that it stems from his work as former governor of the Bank of Mexico and is subject to the law. Instead, he suggested that the funds allocated to AMLO's "retirement" are opaque, without visible legal basis, and possibly high.

This statement comes at a time when austerity has been a hallmark of Obrador's administration, making any revelations about public spending related to him particularly sensitive.

Zedillo also took the opportunity to insist on his call to audit emblematic works of the previous administration, such as the cancellation of the New Mexico City International Airport (NAICM) , the Dos Bocas refinery , and the Maya Train , all of which were flagged for possible irregularities in cost, planning, and operation.

These megaprojects, executed with multimillion-dollar budgets, have been defended by Sheinbaum as part of AMLO's legacy, but the former president describes them as symbols of opacity and discretion.

One of Zedillo's most pointed statements was the one that connects these privileges with the disappearance of the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI) .

"The concealment of this information surely contributed to the decision to dismantle the INAI," Zedillo denounced, suggesting a systematic attempt to reduce citizen oversight mechanisms.

The letter concludes with a call to defend the rule of law, warning that the Morena government, under Sheinbaum's leadership, is following López Obrador's authoritarian path by "destroying constitutional checks and balances to perpetuate power."

Zedillo insisted that, in the face of the warnings, the government's reaction has been the same as in previous administrations: "slander and disqualification instead of arguments."

With this latest episode, the confrontation between the PRI's past and the Morena's present has intensified, placing key issues at the center of public debate: transparency, the use of public funds, and the fragility of democratic checks and balances in Mexico.

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