Mexico and the double standard of the 'Fourth Transformation': nationalism of discourse, privilege of passport

In Mexico, with the self-proclaimed "Fourth Transformation," morality is like a crystal: it depends on which you look at it... and the last name you carry. The recent scandal involving Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller, wife of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, over her request for Spanish nationality, not only reveals a personal contradiction, but also lays bare the structural hypocrisy of a political movement that has made selective nationalism its ideological banner.

Let us recall that, for years, the discourse of López Obrador and of many of his collaborators - including Gutiérrez Müller herself - was marked by an openly hostile stance towards Spain. Not only were apologies demanded for the Conquest 500 years ago, but Spain was accused of maintaining a "neocolonial behavior" in Spanish America. It was even suggested that bilateral relations should be "paused."

It is therefore unusual - and deeply cynical - that the same Moreno-ist elite that wrapped itself in the flag of anti-imperialism and national sovereignty, today resorts to Spanish legal mechanisms to acquire a dual nationality. In the case of Gutiérrez Müller, it is the Law of Democratic Memory, which allows the descendants of exiles of Francoism to claim Spanish nationality. The former First Lady's grandfather was reportedly born in Leon, Spain, which would open the door to the coveted European passport.

President Claudia Sheinbaum, in her now famous "Mañanera del Pueblo" on May 7, limited herself to saying that Gutiérrez Müller "is within her rights." But what she did not say, and what millions of Mexicans have noticed, is that this "right" openly contrasts with the revanchist discourse that Lopez Obrador has held for years. At what point did it become compatible to demand an apology for the Conquest while the citizenship of the conquering country is being processed?

And even more revealing: López Obrador himself is the son of a Spaniard, Don Andrés López Ramón. This does not disqualify him as a Mexican, of course, but it does add a layer of irony to his narrative of historical grievance. While from the presidential pulpit a nationalist mythology with anti-Spanish overtones was being constructed, privately he enjoyed family ties and now, legal benefits derived from those same European roots.

Claudia Sheinbaum, for her part, is not exempt from contradictions either. She presents herself as the standard bearer of the people, defender of the marginalized and legitimate heir of Lopezobradorism, but she keeps a complicit silence in the face of this episode that contradicts the principles she claims to represent. Her lukewarm and evasive response to the questions reveals the same thing that characterizes a good part of the Morenista elite: opportunism disguised as ideology.

It is not a question of opposing the exercise of a person's right to dual nationality. What is inadmissible is incoherence. While millions of Mexicans suffer migratory restrictions in the U.S. or are victims of exclusion policies in Europe, those who govern on their behalf comfortably access foreign citizenship benefits that will allow them to move, reside or invest in the first world. The "poor first" discourse ends at Barajas customs.

The 4T has not broken with the old regime. It has simply replaced its beneficiaries. The problem is no longer the elite, but who belongs to it. The Spanish nationality of Gutiérrez Müller - if confirmed - would not only be a personal formality; it would be the perfect symbol of a government that has made double standards its State policy.

Because while the flag of historical grievance is waved to polarize the country, the back doors of history are opened for those who can - with a surname, a grandfather, or an academic connection - get what millions are denied: privileges.

Thus, the struggle against "colonialism" ends at the Spanish consulate line.

And nationalism, like so many other things in the 4T, becomes... negotiable.