The Unpaid Millions: PRI and PAN Under Fire in Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua – A bombshell revelation has rocked the political landscape of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, as an investigation has uncovered that two of the country’s prominent political parties, the National Action Party (PAN) and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), have collectively amassed a staggering debt of 14,848,927 pesos in unpaid property taxes. This extensive delinquency, with some arrears stretching back over a decade, has sparked a heated public confrontation with the city’s mayor and raised serious questions about fiscal responsibility.
The PAN’s Decades-Long Delinquency: A 9.5 Million Peso Burden
The controversy first erupted earlier this week, on Monday, January 19, when Mayor Cruz Pérez Cuéllar of the Morena party publicly denounced the PAN’s substantial debt. According to the mayor, the PAN owes approximately 9,529,180 pesos in property taxes for three properties, with payments outstanding for over a decade. Héctor Ortiz Orpinel, the Secretary of the Ciudad Juárez City Council, confirmed in an interview that the PAN’s debt dates back to 2012, with only a partial payment made that year. Since then, the party has consistently failed to meet its obligations, allowing the sum to balloon over time.
“This is a historical debt that has been allowed to accumulate,” Ortiz Orpinel stated. “It has been 14 years that, in one way or another, they have not caught up, and this ultimately harms the people of Juárez.”
The properties in question include the five-story building serving as the PAN’s Municipal Committee headquarters, which alone accounts for 6,396,172 pesos in debt. An adjacent parking lot contributes an additional 1,377,120 pesos, and a third property on the intersection of 5 de Mayo and Ignacio Zaragoza carries a debt of 1,755,888 pesos.
Mayor Pérez Cuéllar, re-elected in 2024, did not mince words in his public condemnation, which included a video message circulated on social media. He highlighted that while 375,000 Juárez families diligently pay their property taxes, the PAN has shirked its responsibilities despite receiving millions in public funding. The mayor warned that if the debt is not settled, the City Council would proceed with the embargo and eventual auction of the PAN’s properties.
“The truth is, it’s an outrage that while families are working and contributing to a better city, these abusers, these freeloaders from the PAN, owe the city,” Pérez Cuéllar declared. “I’ve already spoken with the treasurer: they will be notified and have to pay what they owe, otherwise, we will embargo and auction off the properties.”
PAN’s Response and a Contradicted Blame Game
In response, Daniela Álvarez Hernández, president of the PAN’s State Steering Committee in Chihuahua, initially attempted to deflect criticism, suggesting the public exposure was a retaliatory measure for the party’s accusations of nepotism against the mayor. However, she ultimately acknowledged the debt and pledged to settle it, though without providing a concrete timeline. Álvarez Hernández also attempted to shift blame, claiming the debt originated in 2012 when, she asserted, Cruz Pérez Cuéllar was the state leader of the PAN.
However, public records and journalistic archives contradict this claim. Data from the municipality indicates that the last payment or partial payment by the PAN was indeed in 2012, meaning the party’s non-compliance began in 2013. During that period, the president of the PAN’s State Steering Committee in Chihuahua was Senator Mario Vázquez Robles, who held the position from 2011 to 2014 and again from 2014 to 2016. Pérez Cuéllar served as state president from 2008 to 2011.
The PRI’s Share of the Debt: Over 5 Million Pesos
Following the PAN’s public shaming, the municipal government revealed on Tuesday that the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) also carries a significant property tax debt in Ciudad Juárez. The Municipal Treasury reported that the PRI owes 5,319,747 pesos for two properties, with non-payment dating back to 2013 and 2015. The largest portion, 5,148,177 pesos, is for a building on Lerdo Street, while another property on Juan Valderas Street accounts for 171,570 pesos.
Unlike the confrontational exchanges with the PAN, the PRI’s state leader, Alejandro Domínguez Domínguez, received the municipal officials personally and expressed willingness to resolve the issue. He explained that one of the properties, which holds the majority of the debt, is undergoing a regularization process due to incomplete titling, currently registered under Fomento Urbano de Chihuahua rather than the PRI itself. Domínguez asserted that properties genuinely owned by the party are up-to-date on payments and pledged to settle any outstanding debts.
A Deep-Rooted Political Feud
The public exposure of these debts has not only highlighted fiscal irresponsibility but has also reignited a long-standing political feud between Mayor Pérez Cuéllar and the PAN leadership. Pérez Cuéllar was a member of the PAN for 28 years before leaving the party in 2015 after being suspended for alleged defamation. He subsequently joined Movimiento Ciudadano and later Morena, under whose banner he won the mayoral election in 2021.
The PAN, in turn, has consistently launched political attacks against the mayor, including accusations of nepotism. This ongoing animosity suggests that the property tax controversy is more than just a financial matter; it’s a battleground in a protracted political struggle.
City Officials Insist on Legal Process, Not Political Vendetta
Héctor Ortiz Orpinel, the City Council Secretary, emphasized that the actions taken against the PAN are part of a standard legal mechanism for property tax collection, not a recent or exceptional decision. He stated that notifications for non-payment have been issued annually, and the current process is a result of years of accumulated debt.
“This is a mechanism that the law itself provides for when there is a property tax debt. It’s not new; notifications have been made year after year,” Ortiz said.
He reiterated that the last payment from the PAN was in 2012, and the debt has since accumulated over 14 years. Ortiz also criticized the parties for their failure to comply, especially when over 376,000 citizens fulfill their tax obligations. He highlighted that the amount owed by the PAN alone could double the city’s university scholarship budget, currently around 10 million pesos.
Regarding the PAN’s attempt to blame Pérez Cuéllar for the debt’s origin, Ortiz firmly rejected it, pointing out that Pérez Cuéllar’s tenure as state president ended in 2011, and the debt accumulated under subsequent PAN leaderships. He also explained that the current administration intensified collection efforts after first updating property valuations and then inviting all delinquent taxpayers to regularize their status. Despite these invitations and programs offering payment facilities, the parties remained “omissive” for several years.
“Once you are invited, twice you are invited, three times… we have to resort to other measures. And that’s what has happened. In Ciudad Juárez, properties have already been auctioned off when all deadlines and facilities are exhausted,” Ortiz warned.
Once officially notified, the parties have 30 days to address their situation. Failure to do so will initiate administrative enforcement procedures in accordance with the Fiscal Code and Municipal Code. In the case of the PRI, Ortiz noted their willingness to engage in dialogue and present clarifications regarding property regularization during this period.
“If there is an error, there is a space to say so. The procedure is the same for everyone: approach and regularize,” he concluded.
