El Rey del cash’: The book that tells how AMLO laundered money to fund presidential campaigns

Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s ambition to become president led him to force high-level federal government officials to become the fundraisers of the President of the Republic, who is now known as “The King of Cash”. How he supported and sustained three presidential campaigns traveling throughout the country and how he created a whole new political party called “Morena”, with more than 10 million followers.

At least that is the vision of Elena Chávez, ex-wife of César Yáñez, the closest collaborator of the President until 2018 and today Undersecretary of Democratic Development, Social Participation, and Religious Affairs, who was within the Government of the former Distrito Federal (Federal District) from where all kinds of transactions using cash were practiced regularly. The Charolazos (pass the hat) and Moches (pay-off) were set up.

Recommended by Marcelo Ebrard, today Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Gabriel García, now senator, “became the biggest cash administrator”, through a “money laundering laboratory” that was generated through the Civil Association known as “Honestidad Valiente“, created by Julio Scherer, former legal advisor to the President (who quit 6 months ago), says the journalist’s book.

In turn, Ebrard, upon achieving “his dream” of being Mayor of Mexico City, delivered “monthly millions” to the President through his Secretary of Finance, Mario Delgado, now president of the Morena political party, according to “El Rey del Cash”.

“The instruction was to give cash to Alejandro Esquer, long-time private secretary of the president, and in case of being caught, they had to take the blame and never say a word about AMLO”, Chávez wrote in her book.

Delgado delivered the money in suitcases full of cash, and Ariadna Montiel, Secretary of Welfare and former director of the RTP transportation network, in big yellow envelopes.

Octavio Romero, director of Pemex and former senior government official, “institutionalized the Moche (pay-off)” among the workers of the CDMX government who involuntarily delivered a percentage of their salary “for the cause”; during the adminstrations of  Marcelo Ebrard and Alejandro Encinas, the book says.

Businessmen such as José María Riobóo, Miguel Rincón, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, and Carlos Lomelín are also mentioned in the book.

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