A pharmaceutical business linked to Carlos Lomelí Bolaños, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s point man in Jalisco, has received government contracts to the tune of 164 million pesos in 2019, according to an investigation by the independent agency Mexicanos Contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad (MCCI).
The probe suggests Lomelí, the federal “super” delegate in Jalisco and former candidate for state governor for the Morena Party, runs nine businesses through a network of family members, partners and legal representatives.
The businesses are all dedicated to the manufacture and sale of medicines.
Lomelí has acknowledged his participation in four of the firms but denies that he or any of his relatives or associates are connected to the other five.
However, the investigation, carried out by Valeria Durán and Laura Sánchez Ley, purports to have uncovered documents confirming that 11 people closely linked to Lomelí play key roles in those firms.
According to Durán and Sánchez, the five business that Lomelí refuses to acknowledge have garnered two billion pesos in contracts with various governments across the republic in recent years. One of these, Abisalud, obtained seven separate contracts from the federal government in 2019, worth 164 million pesos.
Lomelí denies any involvement with Abisalud, which is reportedly now owned by his former private secretary. The investigation also notes that the company sold merchandize at inflated prices, as well as “false medicines.”
In a statement this week, Lomelí said he categorically refutes the report’s findings, reiterating that he has no connection to any business that currently participates in bids for government contracts.
Although Lopez Obrador defended Lomelí and described the probe as politics as usual, he said the matter should be investigated as per the law.