SUMMARY – MORNING PRESIDENTIAL PRESS CONFERENCE – WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2024

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador criticized the decision of a federal court that allowed the ex-director of Pemex, Emilio N, accused of money laundering and corruption, to leave prison. The President insisted that the judicial system is rotten, is utilized by a corrupt minority, and does not represent the people.

Given the beginning of the electoral campaigns on March 1, President López Obrador revealed that the two female presidential candidates are receiving protection from the Ministry of Public Security and the National Guard. He also called on the National Electoral Institute (INE) to investigate the use of bots in social networks that are part of dirty wars. «People must be shielded from being bombarded with lies,» he said.

The constitutional reforms proposed by President López Obrador regarding the rights of communities, indigenous peoples, and Afro-Mexicans seek to:

LEER MÁS:  Carlos Slim señala que con Claudia Sheinbaum habrá futuro económico prometedor

-Recognize Mexico as a pluricultural and multiethnic nation.

-Classify indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities as recognized entities, with legal status and their own assets.

-Create a general law that establishes the norms and mechanisms that ensure the respect for and exercising of indigenous rights.

Pemex’s debt was reduced by 17.4% from US$129.3 billion in 2018 to US$106.8 billion. Now 75% of Petróleos Mexicanos’ income comes from the domestic market and not from the sale of crude oil abroad. «This reconversion, which is good for the country, does not please those who for decades managed Mexico’s politics,» the President said.

In the Who’s Who in Lies section it was reported that:

-It is untrue that members of the Navy attempted to engage in extortion at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) involving works of art. There are no complaints or charges filed involving customs personnel.

LEER MÁS:  Partido del Trabajo va por sanción contra ministros de la SCJN

-It is not the case that Mexico City will be without water in a year. This is an opposition campaign to create fear in the population.

-There was no leak in the Ciudad Madero refinery; civil protection explained that it was steam and there was no risk for the population.

-There is a campaign underway in social networks to discredit López Obrador and Claudia Sheinbaum. Bots farms issued more than 10 million fake tweets.