Emilio Lozoya opens Pandora's box

After former Pemex director Emilio Lozoya said former president Enrique Peña Nieto and former Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Videgaray Caso were the ones who ordered him to perpetrate corruption acts and presented evidence and witnesses, this may lead to both of them testifying before justice. This scenario would be an unprecedented event in Mexican history.

Emilio Lozoya Austin argues that Peña Nieto and Videgaray instructed him to allocate MXN 100 million to Peña Nieto’s presidential campaign in 2012. Nevertheless, the money was obtained through bribes paid by Odebrecht in exchange for government contracts.

Years after Enrique Peña Nieto won the election, Lozoya argues he received MXN 120 million to distribute among lawmakers. The lawmakers were allegedly bribed to approve a series of structural reforms proposed by Peña Nieto between 2013 and 2014, including the energy reform.

Recommended: Emilio Lozoya says Odebrecht bribes were used to fund Enrique Peña Nieto's presidenital camapign in 2012

According to the former Pemex chief, former president Felipe Calderón was also involved in corruption acts. Lozoya said Calderón benefitted from Odebrecht’s bribes after giving them a privileged treatment and granting the construction company a contract to build a petrochemical plant, Etileno XXI , in Veracruz.

Although the PRI presented itself as a new version of the political party, insisted that after seven decades in power it had left practices such as abuse of power behind, and argued it was an alternative and young political class, it turned out to be more greedy and arrogant by thinking that impunity would last forever.

Furthermore, when the PAN took over the country in 2000, it didn’t go over what the PRI did in over 70 years in power. When the PRI returned to power in 2012, it didn’t review the PAN’s results either. Now, for the first time in history, federal prosecutors are investigating the corruption cases that took place during the previous administration, a process that is necessary to eradicate impunity and corruption; nevertheless, it is unfortunate that authorities use the case for political purposes and to distract society from the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis. Mexico must pay attention and not disregard the needs of the country to focus on political vendettas.

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