• CHARGES: The López Obrador administration’s ministry in charge of fighting corruption and promoting transparency blocked auditors from accessing its premises and archives during a law-mandated review of the 2019 federal spending, Mexico’s independent Chief Audit Office (ASF) revealed.
• REPORT: In its review, the ASF said officials at Mexico’s Ministry of Public Administration (SFP) rejected interview requests and did not prove having put in place internal review mechanisms across government. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was elected as an anti-corruption crusader.
• INCONSISTENT: “The position adopted by the SFP during the audit process turned out to be inconsistent with the strict application of principles of transparency, accountability, and the fight against corruption and impunity which the federal agency has among its powers”, the ASF said.
• INVESTIGATIONS: Covering López Obrador first year in office, the ASF’s review showed that the Mexican government only conducted 92 investigations into federal employees’ financial disclosures. The total number of officials filing financial disclosures in 2019 was 575, 834.
