Businessman Ricardo Salinas Pliego sparked controversy after proposing that people receiving social assistance should not have the right to vote, arguing that these programs could be used for electoral purposes.
The president of Grupo Salinas posed a hypothetical scenario to his followers in a social media post: if he were president, he would consider expanding social programs, but on the condition that those receiving these resources could not participate in elections.
“If you were president, would you consider expanding social programs, but with one condition: Anyone receiving financial assistance with Mexican taxpayers’ money should not be able to vote,” the billionaire posted.
The businessman asserted that public funds should not be used to “buy elections” or to influence the votes of the most vulnerable sectors. In his post, he warned that these practices foster political dependency and constitute a form of corruption.
“Mexican taxpayers’ money should not be used to buy elections or to extort the most vulnerable in exchange for their votes. Using Mexican taxpayers’ money to build networks of political dependency is one of the most perverse forms of public corruption,” he stated.
The businessman also maintained that government aid must be protected from any use for electoral purposes, since, in his view, conditioning economic need on political power undermines civic freedom and the legitimacy of the vote.
“The handouts the government gives to people must be protected from any electoral use, because when people’s needs are conditioned on political power, both the freedom of the citizen and the legitimacy of the vote are destroyed,” he pointed out.
Source: forbes
