Sheinbaum Blasts Ruling After Court Sides With Billionaire on Tax Case
(Bloomberg) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized a decision by a Supreme Court panel to block a justice from hearing a case related to high-profile tax claims against billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego.
Sheinbaum said all Mexicans must pay their taxes, after the panel of justices said Wednesday that Justice Lenia Batres should be recused. The case centers on an injunction Salinas won that blocked financial authorities from probing his bank and brokerage accounts.
The justices cited a series of Batres’ posts on social media that suggested contempt for Salinas. Most of the posts were from before 2023, when the justice was named to the court by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
“Isn’t that a biased decision?” Sheinbaum said Thursday at her daily media conference. “The underlying issue is that everyone in Mexico has to pay taxes. You can’t speak of the rule of law for some things, and for others that don’t suit me, there’s no rule of law.”
A representative for Grupo Salinas, the magnate’s conglomerate, declined to comment.
The previous administration claimed four of Salinas’ companies owed a total of 63 billion pesos ($3.1 billion), which included hefty penalties from cases going back to 2008. Salinas, who has been a harsh critic of the security and political situation under the ruling party, has argued that he’s being charged twice for the same issues. He’s refused to pay penalties and says he’ll keep fighting in court.
Salinas’ lawyers have filed roughly 47 motions, including 22 bids to bar certain justices from hearing cases, in an effort to delay rulings on five cases before the Supreme Court, Batres said in a statement.
Salinas is one of Mexico’s wealthiest people, controlling bank and appliance dealer Elektra, internet provider Total Play Telecomunicaciones and broadcaster TV Azteca. He had been close to Lopez Obrador since the mid-2000s, but their relationship soured in the final years of AMLO’s administration. Sheinbaum has never been close to Salinas, who has used his social media persona to attack members of her party.
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