Not even criminals have been subjected to such aggressive treatment by the federal Executive, who even expresses themselves with deference and distributes hugs.
Several days in a row and with all the power, we have witnessed beatings, attacks and questioning against the academic María Amparo Casar by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his pawn, the director of Petróleos Mexicanos, Octavio Romero, due to the death of her then husband de Casar and the fate of her widow’s pension. These attacks not only seek to call into question her moral integrity, they have also violated her privacy and affect society’s right to information.
Casar is a leading figure in the fight against corruption in Mexico, so AMLO’s strategy was to link her to an act of dishonesty and undermine her credibility. As president of the organization Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI), she has led journalistic investigations to expose and combat irregular practices since its foundation in 2015. López Obrador would like society and the media to no longer believe Casar or MCCI.
Casar’s commitment to transparency and accountability has made her an uncomfortable voice for power in the Fourth Transformation and since the previous administration. For those who think that MCCI only makes revelations that question 4T and its officials, their works have denounced the ghost companies of the former governor of Veracruz Javier Duarte and the real estate corruption network of the former governor of Quintana Roo Roberto Borge.
His most famous case, which he worked on together with Animal Político, was the resource triangulation scheme in universities known as The Master Scam, used by AMLO himself when he was a candidate to criticize corruption during the six-year term of Enrique Peña Nieto. He also revealed the Odebrecht case and during the Peña Nieto administration several of the MCCI journalist-researchers were spied on by the software Pegasus.
What is even more worrying is the magnitude of the attack against Casar. For several days, President López Obrador used his press conference to publicly vilify her and call into question her anti-corruption fight, precisely with an alleged dishonest act that occurred two decades ago, when every widow has the right to her widow’s pension regardless of the cause of her death. death of his relative. Not even criminals have been subjected to such aggressive treatment by the federal Executive, who even expresses themselves with deference and distributes hugs.
Why has AMLO directed this verbal and institutional artillery against a citizen who exercises her right to freedom of expression and criticism of power? Whenever López Obrador exhibits his most intolerant and authoritarian side, it is a clear sign of desperation. Isn’t his candidate so high in the polls? Are there more revelations coming against his government and his close officials?
The answer lies in the disqualification strategy. Casar not only represents MCCI, but also citizens committed to transparency and the fight against corruption. Attacking her means weakening her organization and those who support it. It is an attempt to wash his credibility and ability to report, so that he is not believed and the cases exposed by MCCI are not taken up by the media.
Those who do not like that the MCCI organization was founded by businessman Claudio in many cases the place of journalism and public and private media that should be investigating and revealing the irregularities of governments and their officials. Like any other organization and information source, MCCI data and stories must also be verified by professional media and journalists.
To viciously destroy Casar’s credibility, the president and his government trampled on the law and the privacy of her and her family members. The dangerous thing about this abuse of authority – even for those who justify it – is that any other citizen can be the object of an act as arbitrary as that.
AMLO violates our constitutional system based on the sacredness of the individual, because individuality is the pillar of freedom. The attacks against Casar are a serious threat to power to impose its distorted versions of reality, violating freedom, privacy and personal self-determination. Even more serious is that these authoritarian acts occur in the absence of counterweights and strict controls from the authority in charge of ensuring our privacy: the Inai.
The Constitution must protect the right of the individual to generate ideas and the right to privacy must protect citizens against any invasion of their thoughts, behaviors, personality and identity, so as not to run the risk of these rights losing meaning.
The dubious obsession with combating the corruption of others and not that of the 4T has led the president to abuse of power, authoritarianism, arrogance and to distort principles such as due legal process, privacy and individual freedoms, all of which is justified by herds. of fans.
AMLO forgets that for Mexicans the abuse of authority, which we suffered during decades of PRI governments, unleashes suspicion, resistance and repulsion. Corruption cannot be reported by violating rights, privacy and the rule of law. Official communication devices such as the press conference are blatantly directed against citizens. AMLO’s government will remain the one that most violates personal data, privacy and the one that spies on its citizens the most as a systematic threat.
The disclosure of sensitive information about people’s private lives is unacceptable and goes against respect for human dignity. In any democracy it is considered an abuse of authority and an act of corruption, because it violates the law and violates the fundamental rights of a person.
The disproportionate attack on María Amparo Casar not only affects her as an individual, but also democracy and the right to know. We must reflect on the use of power and the importance of protecting privacy. The fight against corruption should not become a justification for violating fundamental rights.
Twitter: @beltmondi
