Workers for Mexico's Second-Richest Man Are Told to Vote Against AMLO
Workers for Mexico’s Second-Richest Man Are Told to Vote Against AMLO
By Andrea Navarro
May 30, 2018, 5:00 AM CDT
Executives implore workers not to vote ‘out of anger’
Angst across corporate Mexico mounts as July 1 election nears
In Mexico, there is perhaps no more luxurious shopping experience than a stroll through one of El Palacio de Hierro’s 13 stores. At the Perisur location, an undulating, tempered-glass structure on the southern edge of Mexico City, customers can take home a $2,400 handmade Bottega Veneta purse or a $25,535 Bell & Ross men’s sapphire-crystal watch.
The chain is owned by Alberto Bailleres, Mexico’s second-richest man. This wealth -- nearly $11 billion, according to Bloomberg estimates -- has put him in the crosshairs of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the fiery leftist presidential candidate. To Lopez Obrador, Bailleres forms part of the Mexican “mafia of power” that needs to be reined in.
It’s an unnerving message for Palacio de Hierro executives, especially because Lopez Obrador has opened up an 18-point lead over his nearest rival just one month before the vote. So on a recent weekday evening, they gathered Perisur staff in the mess hall for a mandatory meeting. Over the next 40 minutes, they hammered home the message again and again, according to employees present that night: Vote for whichever candidate has the best shot at beating Lopez Obrador; it’s the best chance we have of preserving the economic system that allows us to employ you.
These kinds of tactics are suddenly becoming commonplace across Mexico. Supermarket chain Grupo Comercial Chedraui, mining giant Grupo Mexico SAB, cinema operator Cinepolis de Mexico SA, airline Grupo Aeromexico SAB -- all have begun to nudge their employees in one form or another to think carefully about who they vote for on July 1. Nothing more clearly underscores how rattled corporate Mexico is about the prospect of a Lopez Obrador victory and how high executives believe the stakes are.
More:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-30/billionaire-s-employees-get-urgent-warning-as-mexico-vote-nears
LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142070971
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