As Mexico’s opposition mired in scandal, AMLO eyes an opportunity

A growing scandal within Mexico’s state-owned oil company Pemex (Petroleos Mexicanos) is swallowing up key opposition political figures and could be a blessing in disguise for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Emilio Lozoya, former chief executive of the oil giant that represents 6.6 percent of Mexico’s GDP, issued a declaration to the attorney general’s office that implicates three former presidents in a sprawling bribery scheme, along with a slew of other important political figures.

Arrested in Spain in January and extradited to Mexico as a protected witness, Mr. Lozoya is accused of receiving USD 10.5 million in bribes from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht — the company behind a veritable avalanche of corruption in Latin America — between his 2012-2016 term, in exchange for contracts. 

Denying the accusations, the businessman agreed to cooperate with the courts, pointing the finger at former Presidents Enrique Peña Nieto, Felipe Calderón, and Carlos Salinas, as well as many other high-ranking politicians in prior administrations. Mr. Lozoya confessed that Odebrecht distributed the money to several representatives during Mr. Peña Nieto’s term, seeking a legal and administrative modification in the country...