Mexico’s tax dispute with billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego intensified after two federal appellate courts ordered his companies to pay roughly 7 billion pesos (USD400 million) in back taxes in less than a month. The most recent decision, handed down on 8 July by the Thirteenth Tribunal Colegiado, confirmed that TV Azteca owes about 3.5 billion pesos for unpaid 2009 income tax, following a late-June ruling that required Grupo Elektra to settle close to 2 billion pesos related to the 2010 fiscal year. A separate decision in mid-June also went against Elektra, bringing the month’s total to about 7 billion pesos. President Claudia Sheinbaum has used her daily press briefings to urge the Supreme Court to resolve the conglomerate’s remaining 32 cases, which the government values at 74 billion pesos. She told reporters that no tribunal has exonerated Salinas Pliego’s firms since the litigation began in 2008 and reiterated that the debts 'must be paid to the people of Mexico.' Grupo Salinas rejected the government’s stance, calling the assessments “double, abusive and illegal” charges designed to plug fiscal gaps and silence critics. In a public letter, Salinas Pliego accused the SAT of running an extortion scheme and denounced what he described as political pressure on the judiciary. The confrontation widened after Salinas Pliego posted misogynistic remarks about three journalists on social media. Sheinbaum condemned the comments as unacceptable and said they aimed to divert attention from the tax issue, drawing further public scrutiny to the businessman’s dispute with the state.