When the State passes the tray
Andrés Manuel López Obrador has a political specialty that few dispute with him: the ability to reach out and ask people for money directly. It’s not something new. It is a pattern that has marked his career, from candidate to former president reappearing on the scene.
Their argument is always the same: priority projects that require the direct participation of society. Sounds nice, right? Democracy with a wallet.
The trust that aroused suspicion
One of the most emblematic cases was the trust “For the rest”, created after the 2017 earthquake. The idea was to help victims. Laudable. The problem came when the INE investigated cash deposits whose origin was not clear.
The Electoral Tribunal revoked the fines, but the doubt about that money was never completely dispelled.
It’s those kinds of details that make noise. Cash, opaque origin, and then a judicial resolution that clears the file but not the suspicions.
The plane that no one won (and ended up in Asia)
Then came the big show: the presidential plane raffle in 2020. A Boeing 787 converted into a jackpot to eliminate an “excessive expense.” Nearly 2 billion pesos were raised in tickets sold throughout the country.
But here’s the funny thing: no ordinary citizen won the plane. It ended up being sold to Tajikistan in 2023 for 1,658 million. Where was the difference? According to the government, it was destined for hospitals.
Budget analysis organizations pointed out that these funds only covered part of what was promised.
Again. The big promise, the partial execution, and the accounts that never fully close. It’s institutional déjà vu.
The most interesting thing is not what was done, but what this method reveals: a constant appeal to the citizen’s pocket to replace or complement what should be a clear and audited state function. Every time the tray is passed, the uncomfortable question remains: Was it really necessary, or just more convenient?
Memory is short, but patterns are long. And this, friends, is one of the most persistent.
