Senate Chief Noroña Defends Morena Deputy’s Lavish Birthday Amid Austerity Pledge

Mexican Senate president Gerardo Fernández Noroña has defended fellow Morena lawmaker Pedro Haces Barba after reports that Haces celebrated his birthday on 28 June at Caroline’s 400, an exclusive club inside the St. Regis Hotel on Mexico City’s Paseo de la Reforma. The venue is known for high-end dining and private entertainment, with some dishes reportedly priced near MXN 10,000. Questioned about whether such spending conflicts with the ruling party’s austerity narrative, Fernández Noroña said individual legislators are free to use their personal resources as they wish. “Lo que haga con mi dinero es mi derecho… ¿Eso qué tiene que ver con las políticas públicas de austeridad?”, he told reporters, adding that private wealth does not automatically undermine public commitments to prudent use of taxpayer funds. The remarks come two months after President Claudia Sheinbaum circulated a letter urging Morena officials to adopt a modest lifestyle, avoid designer goods and eschew perks such as private flights. The episode has renewed scrutiny of how closely senior figures in the governing movement adhere to the austerity platform championed by Sheinbaum and former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.