• LICENSES: Baja California Governor, Jaime Bonilla (Morena party), granted six profitable notary public licenses this week including one to his political godfather -the former Governor Xicoténcatl Leyva Mortera- and one to Leyva Mortera’s nephew.
• LUCRATIVE: Notary public licenses in Mexico are lucrative businesses through which many state Governors have attempted to pay off political debts. Bonilla’s team said that Leyva Mortera had unjustly been forced to return his license in 1989 when he was forced out as Governor in 1989.
• JUSTICE: “He deserves it. We are doing justice to a man, who was also an extraordinary notary and who had to resign due to political issues of power,” said Amador Rodríguez Lozano, the state secretary of government. Leyva Mortero left his post amidst allegations of corruption.
• CONTEXT: In the coming months, the Mexican Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether Governor Bonilla can extend his term from 2021 to 2024. The attempt has been denounced by the opposition as unconstitutional. In total, Leyva Mortera’s family has now four Notary Public licenses.
