Salinas Pliego Says Dual-Nationality Reform Is Aimed at Blocking Him

Mexico City — Mexican businessman Ricardo Salinas Pliego says a proposed constitutional reform barring dual nationals from becoming president or governor is designed to block his path to the presidency, although no evidence supports the claim.

In a post on X, Salinas Pliego criticized President Claudia Sheinbaum’s proposal and suggested it was aimed at him, saying officials “fear and hate” him. He also argued the measure would unfairly affect millions of Mexicans living abroad who send remittances home.

“To understand the sudden urgency to prevent any Mexican with dual nationality from aspiring to the presidency, you have to ask: Are they willing to screw over millions who have emigrated north, and whose remittances they use as support for the economy, with the sole sick purpose of closing the door to the presidency to someone they fear and hate?” he wrote.

He added: “Guess who has dual nationality, and there you have the answer to their urgency for things that benefit no one but harm some. Morena politicians are not governing to make laws that improve Mexicans’ lives; they are legislating to ensure they can’t be removed from power and jailed in 2030. That’s their fear, and that’s their way of clinging to power to keep stealing.”

Political analysts and critics of the reform have suggested the proposal is more likely intended to block Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca, a former governor of Tamaulipas from the National Action Party (PAN), who holds U.S. citizenship. García Cabeza de Vaca, who lives in Texas, has announced plans to compete for the presidency in 2030. He faces investigations in Mexico for organized crime, money laundering, and tax offenses.