CISEN files describe Elba Esther as an “unfriendly despot”

This week, López Obrador threw open the archives of Mexico’s Intelligence Service Agency (CISEN) and its predecessors, allowing anyone to consult anything in them, except for sensitive details such as information on minors or individuals’ private lives.

Elba Esther Gordillo, former leader of Mexico’s influential teachers union (SNTE)

, was also a target of the former Federal Security Directorate (DFS) , and the Directorate for Social and Political Investigations , before it became the Center for Investigation and National Security (CISEN) .

According to official records, she was investigated to determine whether she had extramarital relationships and what religion she practiced, among other things. The intelligence agency claimed that she was a militant for marginalized sectors of society, which is why she garnered the sympathy of public teachers, though she was also described as “an unfriendly despot.”

The file found in the General Archive of the Nation (AGN) indicates that the DFS kept a very close watch on Gordillo Morales since 1977 , when she worked as leader of Section 36 in the Valley of Mexico (Mexico City) .

The agency warned that the politician had the economic and human resources necessary to become leader of the teachers union and win popular election posts.

Gordillo’s full name, date of birth, marital status, telephone numbers, passport number, driver’s licence and address were also included in the file that was labeled as confidential and stored at the Lecumberri Palace. However, some data were omitted in the public version due to Mexico’s law on access to information.

Information related to the union leader’s relationship with Carlos Jonguitud Barrios , former governor of San Luis Potosí , which was gathered between 1979 and 1984, was also omitted.

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