She is the great-great-granddaughter of Gustavo Madero, has several relatives who were governors and is now married to one, the one from Nuevo Léon, Samuel García, but she does not need other names to assert hers: Mariana Rodríguez Cantú, more than two million followers in social networks and a public and private life subjected to constant scrutiny of their own free will. Every day his image and his comments appear on Instagram, from a political visit to an intimate moment as a couple. Last weekend the umpteenth scandal broke out for that reason: the couple took a baby out of the children's shelter and published his photos as if in a family album. Children's organizations accuse her of having broken some laws and of exposing the minor through a path that is out of control in the hands of thousands of Internet users. Criticism has intensifiedbut she is not daunted, she even amends the plan to the NGOs. "I did it from the heart and I would do it again," he repeats.
His presence in public life is total. Many believe that her drive with new forms of mass communication was crucial to her husband winning the governorship in June. Known influencer, she handles social networks like no one else and her image has a media pull. However, she flees from interviews, this is the first she has granted since her circle called her First Lady, three months after García took office as governor. "Sometimes I prefer others to speak." She receives the journalists in her office, all dressed in black, with leather shorts, stockings and ankle boots. A light makeup and short nails painted pink. She is self-assured, natural and appears cheerful and close. He poses for the photos with the same ease that he puts the microphone under the sweater. the
governor
She is 26 years old from Monterrey and she does not miss a detail: “Can I help you move this table away?”
"There's a cable down there."
"Is this cell phone recording?"
"Here comes your water."
"Oh, I don't know if I should take off my mask."
She takes it off and opens the balcony wide.
04:39
Mariana Rodríguez Cantú: "Social networks have gotten out of hand at times"
In video, Mariana Rodríguez talks about managing her social networks. Photo: Photo |
Video: Julio Cesar Aguilar
Ask.
Why has he done it?
Answer.
It has been three months since I entered this office, Amar Nuevo León, and they had told me that the Center for Integral Development of Families, DIF, was going to change my life. I said, it won't be that big of a deal, but yeah, I've seen a reality that I thought existed only in horror movies and not even to that extent. The boys and girls who are there, in addition to coming from a difficult situation, also lived it within the institution. You grow fond of them and with some I have clicked a lot, and one of them is Emilio. Seeing him so small, so smiling, has captivated me. In December, 60 children went to a homestay program, not all with their biological families. I asked if I could take it with me for the weekend and they said yes. I took it out with a family cohabitation permit. Everything is legalI have a written letter from the DIF where it says that I am the person responsible for him during those days. There is no interest of any kind, wrong or wrong, I just wanted him to have the opportunity to spend the weekend with his family, at home.
Q.
NGOs that are experts in child protection speak of the violation of various laws.
Haven't you thought you might have been wrong?
They have even asked the prosecutors to intervene.
R.
I think I'm not stupid enough to get into a problem alone without having been advised by lawyers and the DIF legal team. And I also believe that they lack knowledge of what can and cannot be done. Article 27 of the protection of minors establishes that when a child is an orphan, and he is one, he had not said so before, he has the opportunity to go to coexistence with any person with whom he has an emotional bond. In addition, the DIF allows volunteering and not just me, many women and men can do the same as I did. I think that the NGOs have gotten carried away by the titles of the news: “Mariana and Samuel adopt a child for a weekend”: I never said that. When they order an investigation and Human Rights ask us for the document with the adoption procedures, because there is no such thing, it is already a broken telephone,note after note. About publishing the photos, yes, the law establishes that it cannot be done if this harms the image of the child, but I am not harming it in any way. I was just trying to make a problem visible. Thanks to that these three months we have obtained very good results, donations of 5,000 toys, synthetic courts, shoes, milk; the quality of life has changed for these children and now the public is involved.the quality of life has changed for these children and now the public is involved.the quality of life has changed for these children and now the public is involved.
Q.
You say that anyone can do what you have done.
NGOs criticize the fact that in Mexico some take children out of these centers to exploit them for prostitution or pornography.
Couldn't his words give rise to such a dangerous path?
R.
No, the welcome must be super neat.
We had 100 families before this weekend and thanks to this 321 more families signed up.
A very delicate selection is made.
P.
But they mean that anyone who argues a link can remove it and perhaps not with the best intentions.
R.
That is also regulated with interviews.
No child goes out for no reason.
We avoid that risk.
I received messages of child exploitation, pornography, all of that we are going to handle with great caution, I with triple, because I know that they can score a political goal against me to harm Samuel or me.
P.
But the organizations say that only those who have up to a 4th degree of consanguinity can take care of the child.
Not your case with this baby.
R.
I have tried not to comment much on his case, for his privacy, but he does not have parents or grandparents or uncles involved in this.
Before he is given up for adoption, they want him to stay with the extended family, but in his case it was not possible.
Four days after birth, the parents signed that they could not or did not want to be responsible and the established 30 days passed and they did not retract.
P.
When it comes to public figures, many parents take care of the image of their children.
Have you not thought that, being who you are, this media exposure can harm you?
A.
No, I think it's a benefit, because that way we can help you find a family much more easily.
Families do not usually want children with disabilities.
It seems to me that they are not understanding what the DIF is.
I did want to make that reality visible, and I think that if the adoptive parents could get to know the children, it would be another story.
If I can somehow help this baby find a family, that's a win for me.
P.
Within two years, 10 or 15, the media will continue to wonder what happened to the child that Mariana and Samuel brought home, they will continue to persecute his private life.
That won't affect you?
R.
I do not think so, I am doing everything with love, I would never do it to harm a child, hopefully in 15 years I will have contact with him and be able to see his development, I hope he is in a family then, that he understands that I did it for love , because I love him, and I want his best development.
P.
Experts say that even if it is done with good intentions, it can harm them.
Do you not think for a moment that you have made a mistake?
R.
Well, I would have been wrong to expose a child in a negative way, but it has not been like that.
P.
It is not the first time that you have been told that you were using the image of children and that it was not legal or convenient, like the indigenous child in the Citizen Movement song.
The organizations say that you do not pay attention, that everything is intentional.
R.
No one has told me.
P.
Well, there have been complaints, with that indigenous child, before the INE.
R.
It was with his consent.
P.
But they denounced and there was a fine that later ended in nothing because the boy asked to continue collaborating with the song, he made a living with that.
R.
Well, for something it has not been sanctioned, maybe.
They would have sanctioned us already if we have done so many things with the issue of children.
Now I see the Save the Children posts, well how ironic, they criticize my exposure, but they expose many children to collect donations, what is the difference?
I also collect donations for the DIF.
So I don't know if their criticism is genuine to protect children or to jump on the bandwagon of what's trending right now.
P.
Do you think they criticize you to harm them?
R.
No, no, obviously in an issue like this they manifest themselves, but it may be somewhat hypocritical, because they also do it, why is it different?
Q.
Isn't it a proud position to amend the plan for children's organizations?
Wouldn't it be better to get advice from them who are the experts?
R.
Oh, of course, rest assured, I am very interested in knowing all the mistakes they have made and the learning they have in this matter, but we return to the same thing, when I experienced the issue of the leg, it was very hypocritical that they treated me to advocate [advise] publicly and not privately.
Why didn't they send me direct and non-public messages?
Q.
What is that about the leg?
A.
Not even why am I telling you, a mistake we made.
P.
Ah yes, the episode of machismo.
[Her husband said in a video: "Raise the camera, you are showing a lot of leg, I married you for me, not for you to be showing"]
A.
Yes, that.
Why then did they not write to me privately?
Be careful, Mariana, I recommend such and such...
Q.
But how are you going to ask for private comments when you yourself enjoy public exposure?
Isn't it contradictory?
R.
Well no, because it is a way to help, why do they want to expose me in that way with a public call, how much is it to want to hang on to the subject or, on the contrary, to have the true intention of saying I want to help Mariana?
Q.
Who exactly are you accusing?
R.
Oh, why am I reliving this?
Many artists criticized him on their networks, for example, why this exposure of an embarrassing topic that happened to us and that we made a mistake?
P.
Well, because those are the rules of the game in the networks, right?
A.
Well, yes, but I don't know if the criticism is there to help us correct our mistake.
I would gladly talk with these associations that protect children and adolescents, meet with several at the same time, maybe so that they can give me their feedback, I am always open to listening.
I'm not closed to admitting mistakes, but what I did this weekend was from the heart.
I did not break the law, I took advice before doing it.
Q.
Is there always an advisory team behind your image on the networks?
R.
Not in the [exposure of] daily life, but with this decision [of the child] that could have been illegal and get me into a fight, yes.
P.
He says that you have character.
What character does he have?
R.
[Puts out his northern accent] Well, a strong character, haha.
It is not visible, but it does come out suddenly.
Strong character that has taken me where I am, but also makes me make mistakes.
The impulsivity.
Q.
The State Human Rights Commission is investigating this matter.
A.
Yes, yesterday they sent us a letter asking us to send them the papers of the adoption process, but that does not exist, there is no such process, everything has been answered with article 27 of the law for the protection of children and adolescents, so we are calm.
P.
At no time have you thought of adopting the child, then?
R.
Well, that is a very personal issue for Samuel and me, but, for the moment, it has not been thought about.
P.
There will be those who think that you have lost that right, that of privacy.
R.
Yes, we have privacy and we have been learning it also with mistakes made, in the pandemic we made a very big mistake, we exposed ourselves a lot.
If we went to dinner we would do a live, the talks as a couple... There is no need.
Sometimes they ask me: when the baby?
Well, what do they care, they are private matters.
We do have privacy, it was a rule that we established when we got married.
It seems that everything is published, my day to day, but many more things happen that are not seen.
P.
But you will understand that people no longer admit that your life is private.
A.
Well, well, it's the couple's decision.
Q.
Aren't you tired of your own overexposure, of the criticism it brings you?
R.
I started almost five years ago, and I love what I do (laughs).
Nobody tells me what to do and with the personality I have, even less.
I do everything from the heart and I have no greater goal to reach.
I have exposed my life for five years and I think I have liked that people have seen the evolution of Mariana, since I was single, my studies and graduation, Samuel's campaign for senator, my first business, my second, everything has been shared.
The moment I get tired, I'll look out for myself before anyone else, but I'm not in that moment right now.
Q.
What do you get from pleasure in the exhibition of private life?
You guys dated the pregnancy predictor, for example, they're very intimate things.
R.
When I got pregnant, my life was social networks, that's what I dedicated myself to.
But right now it is for the positive benefit that I can give to the institutions to multiply the aid.
The approach to sharing things on networks has changed, but no one can deny that they are the future and if we move away from them, we move away from what is coming.
In the campaign they insulted us a lot for using them, but it is a blessing to be on the networks and achieve what we have achieved.
For me it is a tool that has brought me to many people, that has opened many doors for me, that thanks to that I have my business, why do I look for the negative in something that has given me so many blessings.
P.
There are those who accuse you of a constant political strategy.
What are the limits?
R.
I do what I am doing from the heart, my position is honorary. If I don't want to work tomorrow I wouldn't have to. I do it every day because I am very motivated to help these children. From the heart, nobody pays me, I am not looking for a political position, there is no strategy. Truly, what I found in the DIF is something that you cannot sit idly by: unattended children with disabilities, run-down facilities, I love the staff, but the schedules are very neglected, an endless number of things; the children did not study, they did not leave their rooms, it is an important mental health issue. I think people call it political strategy because I do things differently, I'm not the wife of a traditional governor. I don't know why they say it, but for me it's in the background,I believe that I can improve the lives of these children and I am improving it. The facilities that we are going to build in the DIF are from the first world, small apartments for teenagers, neat, that make them feel like family. I do everything from the heart.
P.
When one has the power of government to change the conditions of a reception center, is it necessary to use that propaganda with a child?
A.
It's not just power, say I have 20 million pesos to fix the DIF, but I can triple it and then the facilities are remodeled.
With this push in social networks many people are going to join.
I don't want a single peso in cash for a donation, everything is done the right way, with the right accounts.
But I do believe that no matter how much power you have, everything can be multiplied.
At Christmas the gifts multiplied, as DIF we could give them a toy and with the donations we gave them five to each one.
Thanks to exposing it on my networks, if not, nobody would know what is being done.
P.
You say you are used to criticism.
Has this case hurt you more?
R.
No, I've had worse, haha.
No matter how much criticism there is, I did things right, I asked for permission, I didn't want privileges, and everything was in accordance with the law.
If I had done something wrong and was exposing myself it would have hurt.
Q.
Many precautionary recommendations are made on social networks, because people go overboard.
The abuse of the networks from the government could not cause them a good disorder?
R.
Well, we have already learned, because yes, sometimes things have gotten out of hand, uploading things immediately also lends itself to making mistakes, and in these six years, I tell you right now, I am going to make mistakes, I do not intend be perfect or pretend to be perfect.
Q.
Users are also victims of online violence.
Do you feel victimized by the cruelty of criticism?
R.
I do not like to victimize myself.
I am responsible for my actions.
I could play the victim, say that everyone attacks me, well no, sometimes I earn it, and sometimes there are mistakes and in these six years I will make many.
I have had to learn publicly that sometimes it is harder and it does hurt, but I am the one who is exposing myself and nobody is doing it for me.
It's a two-edged sword and I have to agree with it if I share my life on social media.
P.
There are still fringes of threats of denunciations, even for human trafficking for commercial exploitation in the case of the baby in the asylum.
Don't you fear it?
R.
My social networks have not been monetized for a long time, people have a wrong image, or do not believe the evolution that I have had as a person.
I did that for a while, but now I don't get paid for my mentions, far from it.
It is the Mariana that was and the Mariana that I am.
P.
It evolves quickly to be so young, right?
R.
Life has taken me to places I never thought.
But I am quite happy.
P.
She looks very mature at 26 years old.
R.
My mom has always told me that I am one step ahead, since I was little: that I crawled, walked and talked before my time;
I graduated earlier in my career, I don't know why I live in such a hurry, maybe I'm going to die young, you never know, haha.
No, I think it's the circumstances that have touched me, when I started hanging out with Samuel I was 19 years old, completely oblivious to political issues, and from listening so much you learn, if not, then you suffer.
Right now, life has brought me here for something and for something, so I am going to exploit the potential that I have and the opportunities that life has given me and the donations that people give me so that the children have a decent place.
That's my six-year goal.
P.
Many people think that the governorship was won thanks to social networks.
A.
Sure, I don't doubt it, social networks helped us create a community of people, to let them know where we were going to be, and they came to us.
Sure, there were also many strategies, Samuel's intelligence, the study, but thanks to the networks, Samuel can communicate his intelligence, his proposals.
For me, at my age, taking a step back from this is not in my plans.
P.
So, you have to agree with those who say that the campaign was won by Mariana.
R.
No, Samuel also has powerful social networks.
It was a world of circumstances that strengthened his and mine networks, I am only a factor that helped win, one of them.
P.
That same force of the networks, are you not afraid that it will become like a tail blow and hit them with a good political scare?
R.
Maybe, but everything I'm doing I do with legal advice.
I'm not doing anything because it occurs to me, because I want to, because I'm looking for likes or comments.
In the case of Emilio, I could have taken him and not put anything on the networks, but what would have been worse, someone from the DIF saying: Mariana took the child and said nothing, or making it transparent?
I think people appreciate transparency.
If he had done it secretly, no one would have believed the explanation later.
And less when you are posting everything about your life on a daily basis.
I love social networks.
Q.
You have been in government for three months.
How's it going?
R.
I am enjoying myself, every day I wake up very motivated to help children, we are going to start an entrepreneurial program, to see if the pandemic passes, attacking obesity in the DIF, migration, obstetric violence, teenage pregnancy, never you get tired.
Every day I grow as a person and every day your life changes.
P.
You have said that you do not rule out making the leap to a political candidacy.
R.
Now I enjoy the honorary position that allows me to work with all the cabinet secretaries, I do not think about political positions, it is early to think about the future.
Three years ago I wouldn't have thought of being married to a governor either.
So, I don't rule it out, but it's not in my interest.
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