Mexico’s new UK ambassador from ‘party of poor’ has 10 houses and £1m of jewellery

With his million-dollar jewellery collection and his two Rolls-Royces, Mexico’s new ambassador to the UK will fit right in with the Mayfair crowd. Former attorney general Alejandro Gertz Manero was appointed to the post by President Claudia Sheinbaum last year, but only recently disclosed his financial assets . The list includes 10 houses, seven cars, including two Rolls-Royces – one worth $150,000 (£115,000) – jewellery worth over $1m and an art collection valued at nearly half a million dollars. He also reported bank accounts in Mexico, the US, Spain and Switzerland, and owns a property in the US worth over $1m and a flat in Madrid bought for €1m (£860,000). In the public filing, Gertz Manero said many of the assets were inherited. In Mexico, wealthy politicians are nothing new and, as corruption is commonplace, there is an intense focus on the lifestyles of public officials. But the ambassador’s opulent assets stand in stark contrast to the governing Morena party (to which he belongs), which has long held the motto: “For the good of all, first the poor.” Morena “have associated themselves with austerity historically as part of their political platform”, said Viri Ríos, a public policy expert and the director of Mexico Decoded . …