MEXICO CITY - The Mexican presidency announced on Thursday that an inquiry has begun to establish whether Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard violated legal or regulatory provisions after he arranged for his adult son to reside at Mexico's ambassadorial residence in London while studying between 2021 and 2022.
President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters at her morning press conference that complaints submitted to the minister in charge of anti-corruption and good governance produced an automatic investigation. The agency named will assess whether any rules were contravened.
Ebrard has publicly acknowledged that his son spent six months living at the ambassador's residence during that period. He has denied that public money was used to support his son's stay and has rejected allegations of personal wrongdoing beyond, in his words, "a father's concern for his son." According to reporting cited by Spanish-language newspaper El Pais, the student had access to domestic staff during the stay, including a butler, a cook and cleaning personnel.
The inquiry carries potential political implications because Ebrard leads Mexico's negotiations with the United States and Canada on renewing a trilateral trade accord considered central to the country's economy. President Sheinbaum herself said the complaints and the resulting probe will determine whether regulations were breached, but she did not provide additional detail about the investigative timeline or specific legal articles under review.
Ebrard and Sheinbaum have a complex political history. The two were competitors for their party's presidential nomination ahead of the 2024 election; during that campaign Ebrard accused Sheinbaum's operation of tactics such as bussing supporters to rallies, publishing misleading polls and conducting a smear campaign against him. After Sheinbaum won the presidency, she appointed Ebrard as economy minister, citing his negotiation experience, particularly with Washington, and his business-sector links.
The investigation was initiated after formal complaints were filed with the anti-corruption and good governance ministry, which triggered the automatic review that Sheinbaum announced. Beyond confirming the probe and reiterating that the reviewing agency will decide whether any regulations were violated, the presidency provided no further findings at the time of the announcement.
Key facts:
- Complaints to the anti-corruption and good governance ministry triggered an automatic investigation into possible legal violations related to the residence of Ebrard's adult son at the London ambassadorial home.
- Ebrard confirmed his son lived at the ambassador's residence for six months while studying between 2021 and 2022 and denied the use of public funds.
- The probe may affect the political dynamic between President Sheinbaum and Ebrard, who is leading important trilateral trade talks with the United States and Canada.