AMLO’s mornings have cost at least 30 million pesos in 3 years of exercise

Transparency and honesty are the main values ​​promoted by the president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on which the holding of daily conferences is justified. “Every day at 7 in the morning we will be meeting,” said the president before assuming his mandate, on December 1, 2018. “Every day at 7 in the morning there will be a conference in National Palace Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday is a tour of the country, ”he reported before taking a protest.

Since then, the informative agenda has been deeply marked by the president from 7 in the morning when it appears in the Treasury Room of the National Palace in front of media representatives who previously register to witness the conference and, hopefully, ask the president a question regarding issues of national relevance that are subsequently broadcast on digital platforms such as Youtube, Facebook and Twitter, from the official accounts of the Presidency of the Republic.

López Obrador has suggested extending this informational practice on weekends to combat what he considers to be information manipulation. “Maybe it is necessary Saturday and Sunday also (to do) in the morning so that nothing remains unclear and that rumor does not rise; that we can respond quickly and if something is false, clarify it. If it is true, meet the demand. (…) It helps a lot that there are critics, because that way nothing is hidden; We have to be vigilant and pending, ”he said on January 27, 2020, without specifying the proposal.

How much do mornings cost?

According to the response of the General Coordination of Social Communication and Spokesperson of the Government of the Republic to request for information prepared by El Economista with folio 0210000137621: “None of the press conferences held in National Palace generates any outlay, since it is reported that human resources are part of the organic structure of the Office of the Presidency of the Republic, as well as the furniture used in these “.

Carrying out a press conference is not an easy thing and much less cheap, it requires logistics that involves key people who assume the necessary responsibilities for the execution of the event. In the case of the morning press conference, several work teams operate:

1. The media logistics team made up of 8 people
2. The team of interpreters of Mexican Sign Language, made up of 2 people
3. The team of photographers, made up of 5 people
4. The social media team, made up of two people
5. The leadership of the team, represented by the spokesperson Jesús Ramírez Cuevas

It is a human team of 18 people in total, with gross salaries ranging from 17,010 to 163,651 pesos per month.

The morning conferences are the responsibility of those responsible for the Government of Mexico platform and official social networks as indicated in the information request with folio 331000121000214, in charge of 2 people, not to mention the General Coordinator of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic, Ramírez Cuevas, who receives a gross salary of 163,651 pesos per month.

The sum of gross monthly salaries of all those involved in the morning conferences amounts to 811,517 pesos, which multiplied by the three years accumulated by the López Obrador administration – and the morning ones – adds up to 29 million 214,612 pesos.

Media logistics team:

• Nohemí Verónica Beraud Osorio, gross monthly salary: 72,171 pesos
• Dánahe Lezama González, gross monthly salary: 45,075 pesos
• Gabriela Sarmiento Gaspar, monthly gross salary: 17,010 pesos
• Edgar Abraham Romero Hernández, gross monthly salary: 25,820 pesos
• Erik Cuauhtémoc Becerril Ocampo, gross monthly salary: 22,948 pesos
• Gabriel Rodrigo Violante Duran, monthly gross salary: 18,358 pesos
• Jaime Martínez González, gross monthly salary: 22,948 pesos
• Ruslán Aranda Hernández, gross monthly salary: 21,299 pesos

Mexican Sign Language Interpreter Team:

• Eduardo Daniel Maya Ortega, gross monthly salary: 17,010 pesos
• Laura Alejandra Álvarez Suárez, monthly gross salary: 17,010 pesos

Photographers Team:

• Luis Jorge Gallegos Gallegos, gross monthly salary: 81,034 pesos
• Juan Carlos Ramos Mamahua, gross monthly salary: 72,171 pesos
• Saúl López Escorcia, gross monthly salary: 72,171 pesos
• Julio Cesar Muñoz Martínez, gross monthly salary: 62,042 pesos
• Rubén López Luna, gross monthly salary: 28,033 pesos

Responsible for official social networks:

• Blanca Celeste Lugo Frausto, monthly gross salary: 22,023 pesos
• Pedro Daniel Ramírez Pérez, monthly gross salary: 30,743 pesos

General Coordinator of Social Communication of the Presidency:

• Jesús Ramírez Cuevas, gross monthly salary: 163,651 pesos

To carry out the transmission of each conference, an adequate internet connection service and technical equipment, such as cameras, microphones, rails and computers, is required. In the transparency response, the Private Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic listed 80 devices, including: television cameras, fiber optic adapters, base stations, lenses, tripods, consoles and even a crane.

You have to add the monthly plan contracted for the transmission studio, contracted to the company Restream, based in Austin, Texas. Restream software is used to send the transmission signal to different digital platforms such as Youtube. Facebook and Twitter, same that offers plans of up to 63,730.59 pesos per year.

Due to the quantity and duration of the transmissions published each month (at least 20 with durations that sometimes exceed 2 hours), the Business plan must be contracted, which has an annual cost of $ 2,990, equivalent to 63,730.59 pesos. Mexicans according to the current exchange rate.

The morning conferences are an unprecedented informative exercise in Mexico, which requires strategic teams, technological services and key people to carry it out.