President López Obrador is desperate. He no longer knows what to answer about the scandal involving one of his sons or how to change the topic of public conversation.
The fact is that, today, 18 days after Latinus and Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI) published the report on José Ramón López Beltrán, we still do not know the answer to the central question of this matter: in exchange for what a senior executive of the company Baker Hughes, a Pemex contractor, lent a luxurious house to the President’s son in Houston, Texas, between August 2019 and January 2020?
Let’s start from the premise that nobody lends another person a residence in exchange for nothing. What is appropriate is that López Beltrán, the owner of the property, Keith L. Schilling, or Baker Hughes clarify whether the López-Adams couple paid the rent for the property and, if so, how much to see if it is compatible with the prices of the property. market. Failing that, if there was no rent, why did Schilling lend the house? Where does the relationship between the parts come from? All this in order to clarify whether there was a possible conflict of interest or even influence peddling.
What is the information that has come out from the report by Latinus and MCCI on January 27?
1. Schilling, who no longer works at Baker Hughes, acknowledged that López Beltrán was his tenant. Speaking to Bloomberg, he assured that he did not know that José Ramón was the son of the President of Mexico and “had no prior relationship, personal connection or familiarity with the tenant or the tenant’s family in any way, shape or form.” He added that, as a senior officer of Baker Hughes, he also had “no responsibility for any business or contract in or related to Mexico.”
2. During the period in which José Ramón and his wife lived in Schilling’s house, Pemex granted two direct assignments to Baker Hughes, without bidding or the approval of the Board of Directors, for 194 million dollars.
3. Journalist Peniley Ramírez revealed that the second assignment to Baker Hughes, for 109 million dollars, was signed by Ulises Hernández, then director of PMI, an international subsidiary of Pemex in Houston, now a member of the Board of Directors of the Deer Park refinery that Pemex bought Shell.
4. The director of Pemex denied that the Mexican government had benefited Baker Hughes. According to Octavio Romero Oropeza, the assignments were “extensions”, service orders that are permitted by law.
5. However, with Pemex’s own numbers, it can be seen that the payments from the Mexican oil company to Baker Hughes tripled during this six-year term. In 2018, Baker Hughes ranked 13th among Pemex suppliers with the most payments. In 2021 it rose to seven.
6. MCCI has reported that the rent paid by López Beltrán and his wife for the house was $6,187 per month, information that has been neither confirmed nor denied by the landlord or the tenant.
This is what has come to light after the report of January 27. The indubitable fact is that, to date, with the information available, we do not know if there was a conflict of interest or influence peddling.
The President, on the other hand, has directed his batteries against Carlos Loret. The old “kill the messenger” tactic. From his morning pulpit, he has slandered and insulted the journalist to undermine his credibility. On Friday, in the last chapter, he published Loret’s alleged income from a very “reliable” source: someone who sent it to the National Palace; yes, someone of the 50 million who “inform” him. Very trustful…
The President, in this way, not only violated the law by disclosing private information of a citizen, but also demonstrated a level of indecency unbecoming of a President. How unworthy to see a president behaving like a ranch politician. How great was the presidential investiture.
But let’s not make balls. What AMLO wants is to send the message that he is willing to use all the power of the State in order to disqualify journalists who are touching nerves, that is, those who are revealing possible cases of corruption in this government.
I don’t know if Loret earns a lot or a little, nor does it interest me. What I know is that Carlos is doing his job well, bringing to light stories that put the powerful of this government in a predicament and that has great value in a liberal democracy. So much so, that the President looks desperate.
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