MORALITY AS AN ALIBI

Morena perfects cynicism: using a real problem to impose an authoritarian lie.

The recent crackdown on nepotism within its ranks — and those of its allies — is not an exercise in political reform; it is a protocol for the confiscation of power. Under the guise of “moralization,” we are witnessing the transition from rampant nepotism, controlled at the local level, to state-sanctioned nepotism, administered exclusively from the President’s office.

The official argument is seductive: “If the current system allows ‘tribes’ and allies to saturate the lists with relatives, the system is failing.” However, the proposed solution is not to strengthen the law but to impose a will. By denouncing these ills, the regime proclaims itself the only surgeon capable of removing the tumor it itself nurtured.

The proof that the goal is not purification but control lies in Morena’s Statutes. Article 44, section f). The text explicitly empowers the National Elections Commission to:

“…cancel the registration of pre-candidates or candidates […] for serious breaches of the principles of probity and honesty, or for acts that contravene the party’s objectives, at the discretion of this Commission.”

This clause of absolute discretion allows “honesty” to be defined by the party leadership. The Commission, composed of figures like Luisa María Alcalde and individuals loyal to the organizational structure — where Andrés López Beltrán’s influence is beginning to show cracks in the face of the presidential candidate’s advancement — ensures that moralization is, in reality, a loyalty test.

If the objective were transparency, the regime would strengthen the technical mechanisms. Instead, in this 2026 fiscal year, the Expenditure Budget consolidated a real reduction of 25% in the allocations for the Party Oversight and Ethics Units (Source: 2026 Federal Expenditure Budget / Autonomous Branches). The logic is clear: cut funding for law enforcement while centralizing power to decide “who is worthy.”

By turning nepotism into a sin that only the President can forgive or punish, Claudia Sheinbaum positions herself as the ultimate kingmaker. If a political figure is loyal, their nepotism is ignored; if they are inconvenient, their family tree becomes a guillotine.

We are not witnessing an ethical spring, but an institutional winter. “Moralization” is the pretext for replacing the citizen’s vote with approval from the National Palace. Morena is not seeking to eradicate vices but rather to define what is or is not a vice.