Lopez Obrador Rejects Accusations Leticia Paula Cruz - Rumbo de Mexico
go to original May 11, 2012

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexican presidential candidate for the leftist coalition Progressive Movement of Mexico, speaks during a rally at the Venustiano Carranza square in Mexico City. (Yuri Cortez/AFP)

MEXICO CITY – Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) said that if Enrique Peña Nieto can prove that he spent 1.8 billion pesos on advertising while he was mayor of Mexico City, he will bow out of from the presidential race.

In a interview on MVS radio, AMLO, presidential candidate for the Progressive Movement, said he did not spend 1.8 billion pesos on advertising, but only 557 million pesos. The rebuttal comes after Luis Videgaray, Peña Nieto’s campaign manager, said that AMLO spent 1.8 billion pesos on advertising during an interview on the same radio station.

AMLO said these claims were false and that proof of his advertising expenditure can be found in Mexico City’s public records. AMLO was mayor of Mexico City from 2001 to 2005.

AMLO challenged Institutional Revolution Party (PRI) candidate Peña Nieto, saying that if Peña Nieto cannot prove that he spent the 1.8 billion pesos on publicity, then Peña Nieto should leave the race.

“I think that (the challenge) is worth it, because this is about democracy, transparency and, above all, honesty,” said AMLO. “If what he says is true … I will renounce my candidacy. But if it is not true, he should do the same. This is an act of consistency.”

With data from public accounts at hand, AMLO explained that he spent 148 million pesos in 2001, 149 million pesos in 2002, 73 million pesos in 2003, 92.28 million pesos in 2004 and 94 million pesos in 2005. This puts the total figure at about 557 million pesos.

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