Ricardo Pascoe Pierce
The widespread corruption and rapid decline of Morena are plain for all to see. To such an extent that even the international media are reporting it on their front pages. The New York Times reported Thursday that the extravagant and luxurious lifestyle of its leaders is creating a sense of frustration, anger, and social alienation within the “party of the poor.”
President Sheinbaum still enjoys high levels of popularity, which differs from approval, explaining why her government is strongly disapproved of in its policies on security, health, education, and, especially, the fight against corruption. In fact, in the most important areas, such as security, health, and corruption, her government’s disapproval ratings are above 70%. The disconnect between presidential popularity and rejection of her public policies is the focal point of the growing decline of the model of government represented by Morena. According to the New York Times report, the discovery of high levels of corruption in all spheres of government led government sources themselves to confirm that there has never been as much corruption in Mexico as there is today. Not even during the “hateful neoliberal period,” I would add.
The corruption that Morena is experiencing today is equivalent to the “touch of King Midas.” In the case of King Midas, by his own decision, everything he touched turned to gold. When he embraced his daughter, the inevitable happened: she transformed into a golden statue. Thus, he lost what he loved most: his daughter, the product of his insatiable greed.
With Morena in power in Mexico, everything it touches becomes subject to corruption and the greed of its leaders and government officials. This is the most obvious and tangible legacy that Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency left for his successor and for Mexico.
However, because Morena and its leaders know they are exposed to the wrath of the people for their excesses, immorality, and betrayal of the promised political project of cleanliness and honesty, they are now dedicated body and soul to hiding and destroying all traces of their collective crime.
To achieve the goal of concealing the crime, López Obrador launched “Operation Cleanup.” He quickly realized that it was not enough to incur historic levels of debt to buy the outcome of the 2024 elections. Nor was it sufficient to eliminate some autonomous bodies. It was necessary to destroy them all so that any investigation would remain under strict government control, preventing the disclosure of hard data that could incriminate the movement’s leaders for corruption.
Nor was it enough to blackmail the members of the electoral bodies into endorsing, through cheating, Morena’s overrepresentation in the federal Congress, granting it a qualified majority by crooked means. Nor was it enough for that qualified majority to approve an electoral plan to take over the judiciary through fraud to ensure absolute control of the three branches of government. However, even with control of the three branches of government, Morena is still not sure that this is enough to cover up the traces of its crimes. It believes it needs more control. Despite already controlling the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, Morena is promoting further legal reforms to conceal its crimes and ensure that no one is aware of the corruption and ill-gotten fortunes of its leaders, their families, and their unsavory associates.
Now it seeks to limit the exercise of amparo to prevent groups or individuals from questioning and limiting the actions of state “authorities” when there is a conflict of interest. The idea is to weaken the ability of citizens to defend themselves against a state that will become increasingly aggressive toward those who dare to question its actions or decisions. But Morena continues to feel vulnerable and threatened by popular and citizen pressure. To address another vulnerable flank to its supposed strength, it needs to change the electoral rules to cement its total political control over the electoral system. It needs rules that ensure it always wins elections, with electoral councils always on its side, and supporters of its “Operation Cleanup.”
Then we will have an electoral reform that will significantly reduce the space allowed to the opposition, with limited rules and many grounds for eliminating uncomfortable candidates. However, even so, Morena still needs to take additional steps to prevent society from discovering what really goes on behind the scenes, in the dark rooms where Morenistas settle their political interests and economic deals through cutthroat negotiations. It has to limit information to the critical press. Morenista voices have already stated that they want to create a special court dedicated to the media, linked to the judiciary, which will consider criticism of the government as prosecutable lies and, therefore, subject to punishment with fines, imprisonment, or both.
Trials in this area are already underway: there is Campeche, with its state judiciary judges empowered to decide what a media outlet publishes and what it does not publish, and applying economic and moral punishments to its editor. The same thing happened in Sonora, where two Morena congressmen managed to get the judiciary to impose financial and moral punishment on a citizen for her criticism of the hegemonic political power. A similar attempt was made in the state of Puebla, although it was unsuccessful.
These are relevant tests that will set the tone for Morena’s next step in its attempt to cover up the massive corruption occurring in its government. This corruption is now visible, despite the government’s considerable efforts to conceal it, and it is the most significant legacy of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s tenure. Corruption is at the epicenter of the Morena government. And its successor is determined to cover up this corruption, which is occurring on an industrial scale. It is on an industrial scale because, unlike previous six-year terms, where there was also corruption among politicians associated with businesspeople, with Morena, the scope of bribery has widened and spread like wildfire.
Morena’s corruption begins, obviously, with presidential endorsement. This was understood by the business people who associated themselves with Morena politicians, including the president’s sons. But the range quickly widened to include the military at all ranks and the drug cartels. The ecosystem of corruption skyrocketed like a rocket bound for the moon. And everyone got down to work. Politicians, from the presidency down, businessmen, military personnel, and drug traffickers, all in a grand partnership where the motto seems to be: “Mexico is ours to do whatever is necessary to achieve abundance.” With the cynical subtext that “we are doing this so that the poor can also have access to wealth,” the unstoppable robbery by these partners can no longer be reversed. And the president knows it.
What she is doing is carrying out “Operation Cleanup,” as instructed by López Obrador. This will be her historical legacy: creating all the institutional containment barriers necessary so that no one can fully understand the magnitude of the theft that Morena represents for the country. And also to prevent anyone important from falling into the hands of a judge who could undermine the entire political, economic, and judicial scaffolding of the great plunder that is taking place in Mexico today, before our very eyes.
@rpascoep
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