Morena used the Financiera Bienestar network to distribute more than 250,000 "social support" payments: MCCI

An investigation by Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI) revealed on Wednesday that Morena’s National Executive Committee (CEN) used the infrastructure of Financiera para el Bienestar (Finabien) to carry out 252,000 payments classified as “social aid” across the country, an operation that was not reported to electoral authorities and included omissions related to anti-money laundering regulations.

According to documents obtained by MCCI, the contract between Morena and Finabien was originally signed on June 1, 2022, for a one-year term. A subsequent amendment extended its validity until June 28, 2024, just weeks after the federal election in which Claudia Sheinbaum won the presidency.

The investigation states that the contract explicitly established the provision of services for the “payment of social aid.”

It also notes that Morena paid 3.52 million pesos in commissions alone to distribute 252,901 “social aid” payments through domestic money orders, with Finabien charging a fee of 12 pesos plus VAT per transaction.

Million-Peso Reimbursement to Morena

An internal Finabien audit (identified as 2025-02-OIC-9-KCZ-AFC-005) found that only 140,878 transactions were ultimately carried out. As a result, Morena received a reimbursement of 1.6 million pesos in excess commissions.

Although the documents do not specify the amount of each payment transferred, MCCI notes that even if each aid payment had been as low as 100 pesos, the operation would still represent a multimillion-peso expenditure by the party.

Detected Irregularities

The MCCI investigation highlights three main areas of possible illegality and irregularity:

Failure to Report to INE: After reviewing accountability reports for the 2022–2024 period, MCCI found that Morena never reported the contract signed with Finabien to electoral authorities, nor disclosed the source of the funds used for the aid payments.

This “mega-operation” contrasts sharply with official figures. While Morena candidates and coalition partners reported nearly 33,000 financial transactions in their 2024 campaign spending reports, more than 250,000 transfers were contracted through Finabien.

Use of Resources Outside the Law: Neither electoral laws nor Morena’s own bylaws authorize the party to deliver or pay “social aid.”

A former electoral adviser consulted by MCCI said the practice is illegal and suggested that such transfers are often used to compensate poll workers without counting the expense toward campaign spending limits.

The former adviser compared the mechanism to the controversial “Monex case” linked to Mexico’s 2012 presidential election.

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Violation of Anti-Money Laundering Regulations: Finabien’s internal audit, whose results were issued in December 2025, concluded that the contract with Morena failed to comply with protocols established under the Federal Law for the Prevention and Identification of Transactions Involving Illicit Resources.

Despite warnings issued as early as January 2023 regarding the need to implement anti-money laundering controls and security measures for the arrangement, the relevant authorities ignored the recommendation.

At the close of the investigation published Wednesday, MCCI reported that it had sent a questionnaire to Morena’s national leadership requesting its position regarding the findings, but received no response.

This article was translated and edited with the assistance of artificial intelligence.

VGB