CFE conceals info on Ex-Director amidst ‘Bartlett’s Paradise’ scandal

After the report "In the shadow of the Maya Train, Bartlett's secret paradise," was published, an investigation was launched into potential conflicts of interest involving Manuel Bartlett Díaz, former head of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), and his family. However, the CFE has now classified all information related to Bartlett as confidential.

The decision to classify this information was made days before the end of Andrés Manuel López Obrador's six-year term. Despite López Obrador's announcement that his government would investigate Bartlett following the report, which revealed multi-million dollar properties in Cancún and Riviera Maya owned by Bartlett's immediate family, no proceedings were initiated.

Bartlett was not reappointed by President Claudia Sheinbaum to the Ministry of CFE. Instead, Emilia Esther Calleja Alor was named as the new director of the state company. In response to the report, requests were made through the Transparency National Platform regarding Bartlett's legal situation. The CFE's Responsible Unit stated there were neither sanctions nor proceedings initiated against Bartlett Diaz, and requested that any such information be classified as confidential. The Secretariat of Public Function also confirmed that there were no administrative proceedings filed against Bartlett Díaz.

Following the report's publication, a citizen inquired with the Attorney General's Office about any investigations into Bartlett or his relatives. The office responded that it is legally unable to provide information about any complaint filed against Bartlett Diaz or his relatives.

Former President López Obrador addressed the report in an August 6th press conference, calling for an investigation into potential conflicts of interest related to land acquisitions by Bartlett's relatives near the Maya Train in Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Morelos, and Cancún. López Obrador urged citizens to report any suspected corruption to the Prosecutor's Office.