[1/2]Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador attends a news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, June 5, 2023. Portal/Henry Romero/File Photo
MEXICO CITY, July 14 (Portal) – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador released a document on Friday that allegedly disclosed the business dealings of a top opposition politician who hoped to succeed him next year, leading them to accuse him of abuse of power to accuse and threaten lawsuit.
Portal has not been able to verify the authenticity of information Lopez Obrador posted on social media, which appeared to involve financial accounts of two companies linked to Senator Xochitl Galvez or members of her family.
“You broke a number of laws by doing so and as such I will be taking legal action against you and anyone responsible for this,” Galvez said on Twitter after the document was posted, without giving further details.
She also accused Lopez Obrador of using “the entire state apparatus” against her.
Galvez has gained ground in the race for the opposition’s lead candidate in the June 2024 presidential election, running against the candidate representing Lopez Obrador’s left-wing National Regeneration Movement (MORENA).
Lopez Obrador cannot run again because Mexican law limits presidential terms to a single six-year term.
The president wrote on Twitter that he had “received” information that Galvez had acquired a certain amount of contracts since 2015, and included a document purporting to show details of some of those deals for the companies. He did not disclose where the information came from, and the document did not fully detail the sum mentioned.
A spokesman for the president did not respond to a request for comment.
Leftist Lopez Obrador has portrayed himself as the defender of Mexico’s poor majority against a corrupt and wealthy elite he said is intent on making Galvez their presidential nominee. Galvez, who rejects this narrative, said her background is more humble than that of the leading MORENA contenders.
It’s not the first time Lopez Obrador has released financial information about a political opponent. Last year, Lopez Obrador published the alleged earnings of journalist Carlos Loret de Mola, a prominent critic of the president.
Lopez Obrador pointed out how much business Galvez allegedly won at a regular news conference Friday, prompting Galvez to urge him to back up his claims.
If he could, Galvez promised to call off her campaign.
“If not,” she said, “he should resign from the presidency.”
($1 = 16.7366 Mexican pesos)
Reporting by Kylie Madry. Adaptation by Dave Graham and Will Dunham
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