Zedillo Demands Audit of AMLO’s Mega Projects

Mexico City — Former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo has demanded an independent international audit of major infrastructure projects undertaken during the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), including the Dos Bocas refinery, the Tren Maya, and the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA).

Zedillo’s Proposal for Transparency

In a public statement, Zedillo emphasized the need for an auditor “of impeccable professional reputation” to examine these projects, drawing a parallel to the independent audit conducted for the Fobaproa (Bank Savings Protection Fund) during his own presidency in the 1990s.

Zedillo argued that the Fobaproa audit was credible because the auditor was appointed by the Chamber of Deputies—not the executive branch—at a time when his party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), no longer held a legislative majority. He suggested the same approach should apply to López Obrador’s initiatives.

Criticism of AMLO’s Administration

The former president accused current President Claudia Sheinbaum and lawmakers from the ruling Morena party of deflecting attention from what he called “useless projects and actions” by focusing on past governments. He described López Obrador’s tenure as a transformation of Mexico’s democracy into a “despotic hegemonic party regime” and urged Sheinbaum to uphold democratic principles.

Pablo Gómez Responds to Zedillo

Pablo Gómez, head of Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) and a former leftist legislator, acknowledged that auditing AMLO’s projects was feasible but rejected comparisons to Fobaproa.

“The infrastructure projects are tangible—they exist. But where are the tangible results of Fobaproa? We’re talking about entirely different matters. Fobaproa was a financial bailout for private debts, not public works,” Gómez stated in an interview with Milenio Television.

Gómez defended the Tren Maya and Dos Bocas refinery as necessary investments, contrasting them with what he characterized as Zedillo’s privatization policies. He also suggested that Fobaproa’s debt conversion into public obligations may have been unconstitutional, leaving room for legal challenges even decades later.

Ongoing Debate Over Fobaproa

Gómez criticized the annual interest payments on Fobaproa’s debt as unjust, blaming Zedillo and his finance secretary, José Ángel Gurría, for the decision. He reiterated that the bailout violated constitutional provisions requiring public debt to fund revenue-generating projects.

The debate comes amid renewed political tensions, with Sheinbaum’s administration threatening to investigate Fobaproa—a move Zedillo dismissed as a distraction from current governance issues.

Background on Controversial Projects

The Dos Bocas refinery, Tren Maya, and AIFA were flagship projects of López Obrador’s presidency, promoted as transformative for Mexico’s energy and transportation sectors. Critics, including Zedillo, have questioned their cost-effectiveness and environmental impact.

The Fobaproa scandal remains a contentious chapter in Mexican economic history, involving the socialization of private banking debts during the 1994-1995 financial crisis.