Three months after taking charge of a new office created by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to compensate Mexicans for years of public sector embezzlement, its director quit, complaining the organization was tainted by corruption. The blow to the Institute for Returning to the People What Was Stolen (INDEP) is one of several recent cases to blot Lopez Obrador’s image and undercut the message that his December 2018 investiture marked a sea change for a country awash in graft. On Sept. 22, INDEP director Jaime Cardenas submitted his letter of resignation, raising concerns over alleged misuse of proceeds from auctions of stolen assets, and the suspected theft of diamonds, emeralds and sapphires from the institute.
