Mexico President Says Son’s Home Scandal Unrelated to Government

(Bloomberg) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tried to defuse a scandal involving his eldest son, who is living in expensive properties in the U.S. in apparent contradiction to the government's austerity pledge, saying the case isn't related to his administration. 

An article published last week by non-profit civil association Mexicans Against Corruption and news outlet Latinus said that Jose Ramon Lopez Beltran, the president's 40-year-old son, has lived in recent years in two homes in Texas, each worth nearly $1 million. The first property where he lived belonged to an oil executive who worked for a company with Mexican government contracts and the other to Lopez Beltran's wife, according to the story. 

“My sons don't have any influence in this government. We don't give contracts to people who are recommended to us,” Lopez Obrador, who made combating corruption his main campaign promise, said at a press briefing on Monday. “It's difficult to get involved in issues of marriage, but they got married and it seems that the woman has money. It has nothing to do with the government.”

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The president criticized members of the press for comparing the case with previous scandals involving Mexican politicians, including one in which a government contractor built a $7 million mansion for the family of Enrique Pena Nieto, who governed the country between 2012 and 2018. At the time, the scandal marred Peña Nieto's administration with allegations of corruption.

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