On Friday, June 26, 2026, El Universal issued a public apology to the family of renowned Mexican writer Carlos Monsiv\u00e1is and its readers after controversy erupted over a purported interview published by the newspaper. The interview, allegedly conducted 27 years ago by journalist Edmundo C\u00e1zares, included a paragraph about former president Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador (AMLO) that appeared only in El Universal\u2019s version and whose authenticity could not be verified. <\/p>\n
The newspaper acknowledged a failure in its editorial process, admitting it did not verify the interview content against a recording that C\u00e1zares claimed to possess but never provided. \u201cThis newspaper takes responsibility for not having cross-checked the interview with the recording that Mr. C\u00e1zares assured he had and has not delivered as requested,\u201d the statement read. <\/p>\n
El Universal removed the article from its digital platform and promised to implement internal measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The paper also emphasized that C\u00e1zares must take responsibility for his statements. <\/p>\n
The controversy began after El Universal republished the supposed June 1999 interview, which contained a disputed passage alleging that Monsiv\u00e1is had sheltered L\u00f3pez Obrador when he was 19 years old and accused him of having accidentally killed his brother. The passage claimed: <\/p>\n
> \u201cLet me tell you that, some years ago, I gave shelter to Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador when he arrived from Macuspana, Tabasco, at 19 years old; he had accidentally killed his brother. He stayed at my house for nine months, and I had delightful and fun nights with him. L\u00f3pez Obrador, for money\u2026 was capable of anything!\u201d <\/p>\n
Monsiv\u00e1is\u2019s family swiftly condemned the statement in a letter sent to El Universal\u2019s director general, Juan Francisco Ealy Lanz Duret, on June 24. They expressed \u201cdeep dismay and indignation,\u201d categorically rejecting the content as inconsistent with Monsiv\u00e1is\u2019s literary style and ethical integrity. <\/p>\n
The family also denied that L\u00f3pez Obrador ever lived in Monsiv\u00e1is\u2019s home, clarifying that the two met about twenty years later than the timeline suggested by C\u00e1zares. They called the publication \u201cindignant and shameful\u201d and demanded either proof or a public apology, reserving the right to pursue legal action. <\/p>\n
This episode highlights the critical importance of rigorous fact-checking in journalism, especially when dealing with figures central to Mexico\u2019s political and cultural landscape. For readers navigating complex narratives about public figures, transparency and accountability remain essential pillars of trustworthy media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Friday, June 26, 2026, El Universal issued a public apology to the family of renowned Mexican writer Carlos Monsiv\u00e1is and its readers after controversy erupted over a purported interview published by the newspaper. The interview, allegedly conducted 27 years ago by journalist Edmundo C\u00e1zares, included a paragraph about former president Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nacional"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2175"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2176,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2175\/revisions\/2176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}