Two months before candidate registrations open for the 2027 elections, federal legislators belonging to Morena received electronic payment cards issued by Broxel under the business management category known as “Tengo Negocios”, according to a report published by El Universal. The distribution involved 254 congressional members of the party.
Broxel Cards Distributed to Morena Deputies
The allocation totaled 63 million 500 thousand pesos based on the five-card figure reported by El Universal. Each of the 254 federal deputies received five cards with 10 thousand pesos in each, totaling 50 thousand pesos per deputy.
The cards were handed out following an October 28 parliamentary session in San Lázaro, where Ricardo Monreal addressed the lawmakers.
He noted that approximately 70 percent of Morena’s 254 federal deputies are seeking either reelection or municipal presidencies. That total includes 156 wanting to be reelected and between 20 and 30 seeking a municipal presidency.
Experts Compare Distribution Method to Past Controversies
Specialists in government accountability likened the card distribution method to the 2012 Monex controversy, when prepaid bank cards were distributed to political operators during a presidential campaign.
That historical case marked the 2012 presidential elections. It unfolded amid complaints regarding the use of cards to allegedly purchase votes in favor of the PRI and candidate Enrique Peña Nieto.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador denounced the dispersion of resources through prepaid cards. The Electoral Tribunal ultimately determined that the presented evidence did not accredit vote buying and coercion through that mechanism.
Del Río also proposed the intervention of the Superior Audit Office of the Federation to clarify the handling of the money. Eduardo Bohórquez, an anticorruption specialist, noted that Morena formerly criticized the use of bonuses or non-verifiable expenses for public servants.
Anonymous federal deputies cited in the reporting stated that each two or three months we are called for the delivery of cards, which we can spend on whatever we want because they do not require us to prove that expense
.
Morena Defense Cites Regular Parliamentary Prerogatives
Faruk Miguel Take Roaro, administrative coordinator for Morena’s parliamentary group, defended the distribution as a standard and lawful practice.
He stated that the funds derived from ordinary legislative allowances allocated by law to the 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies.
These resources are part of the ordinary prerogatives that are assigned by law to the 500 legislators of the various parliamentary groups, for the carrying out of their complementary tasks of parliamentary, administrative, and popular representation management,
Faruk Miguel Take Roaro, Administrative Coordinator of Morena’s Parliamentary Group
Faruk Miguel Take Roaro stated that these prerogatives are legal and are distributed equally among the members of the various parliamentary groups, which determine the delivery modality for them
.
Regarding the specific transaction, he explained that 30,000 pesos of the year-end prerogatives of each male and female legislator were advanced through electronic wallets, for their greater security and transparency
.
He also stated that it was not five cards per deputy, but three.