AMLO says his brother received campaign contributions 4:20
(CNN Spanish) - This Thursday, journalist Carlos Loret de Mola broadcast a call and two videos on the LatinUs portal. The audiovisual material shows a brother of the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, receiving money from a former official of the current government.
López Obrador said this Friday that the Attorney General's Office will be in charge of investigating the origin and destination of the money given to his brother Pío López Obrador five years ago during the electoral campaign in the state of Chiapas. He even assured that he is willing to testify before the Public Ministry to explain "what I have to do with this case."
He also warned that the material must be delivered to the Prosecutor's Office so that it can investigate the origin and destination of those resources and determine if any fiscal or electoral crime was committed.
The president referred to the issue in his morning conference this Friday, after the publication of the videos in which David León Romero, former national coordinator of Civil Protection of the Government of Mexico, appears, giving the president's brother some packages in which, according to the conversation, there would be money. The objective of the operation was, apparently, to support the Morena party in its electoral debut in 2015.
- Money given to AMLO's brother was to hold assemblies and other activities, according to León Romero
David León wrote this Thursday on his Twitter account that he had decided not to assume the position proposed by the head of state himself as director of a state company dedicated to the distribution of medicines and medical equipment, until his legal situation is clarified.
The former official acknowledged that the money given to Pío López Obrador is authentic and argues that it was a way of supporting Morena's presence in southeastern Mexico. This party obtained its registration in 2014 and was founded by the current president of Mexico.
David León pointed out that the video was recorded five years ago and that from November 2013 to November 2018 he was not a public servant but a consultant.
CNN is trying to reach the president's brother for his reactions to the videos, but there has been no response so far.
A response from adversaries, says the president
López Obrador added in his press conference that the publication of the video is a legitimate reaction of his adversaries to the process that the Prosecutor's Office is following against the former director of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) Emilio Lozoya, accused of acts of corruption and has decided to collaborate with the authorities .
On August 11, Lozoya filed a complaint with the Attorney General's Office in which he accuses several former presidents and former public officials of various acts of corruption. Most of them deny the allegations. Others have not been able to be located.
In addition, López Obrador said that the videos released about his brother are not comparable, neither for the economic amount nor for the "end of the event that is being aired."
The president of Mexico denied that these images have any relation to his presidential campaign in 2018. He also said he did not know if at that time those resources were declared to the electoral body. He added that he did not know about this specific money, but clarified that "many people" contributed resources to the movement, referring to the Morena party.
“These videos that are shown, to also contextualize, are from 2015. In that year there were elections in Chiapas and federal elections. (…) These resources, as discussed in the video, were used for gasoline, for the support of those who worked in the organization of the movement and, as he himself affirms, David León contributed in this way by obtaining those funds, how they helped many Mexicans ”.
AMLO