Mexico’s President Denies Bid to Quiet a Prominent Critic
The episode, reported in The New York Times on Wednesday, occurred at a private meeting Mr. Peña Nieto called in May with dozens
of Mexico’s top business leaders, including Claudio X. González Laporte, the chairman of Kimberly-Clark de Mexico for decades.
In a statement to The Times, Mr. González Jr. described the government’s treatment as a "siege." In the face of the president’s denials, Carlos Loret de
Mola, one of Mexico’s best-known journalists, published a column on Thursday in which he said his own sources had reaffirmed the account in The Times.
Mr. Loret de Mola, who is known for his deep sourcing in the government, reported
that the president had singled out Mr. González Sr. during the private meeting with business leaders in May.
31, 2017
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, on Thursday denied accusations
that he had personally tried to pressure a top business ally to quell criticism of his administration and its failure to curb corruption.
Mr. Loret de Mola added that the president also criticized another leading anti-corruption
activist who has received financial support from one of the other attendees.
The spying against the younger Mr. González coincided with several instances of government aggression, including
nine separate government audits of organizations that Mr. González Jr. has been involved with.
