Michoacán Deputy Barred from Public Office for 20 Years; Legislator Claims Ruling Isn't Final

State deputy Juan Carlos Barragán Vélez, a member of the Morena party in Michoacán, faces a 20-year ban from public office following allegations of illicit activities related to the 2018 Future Scholarship Program. The sanction, issued by the First Chamber of the Anticorruption and Administrative Justice Tribunal (TAAM), concerns the improper distribution of approximately 5.6 million pesos when Vélez served as Secretary of Social Development and Human Services under the Silvano Aureoles Conejo administration.

The resolution, identified by expediente PRA-0011/2025-I, also imposes responsibilities and sanctions on two former officials from the same secretariat: María Teresa Madrigal Alanís, former director of Social Economy Development, and Gerardo García Ambriz, former administrative delegate. An audit of the scholarship program revealed irregularities, including the disbursement of funds to 2,024 individuals not authorized by the program's Technical Committee, with no certainty of fund reimbursement.

Barragán Vélez has vehemently contested the ruling, asserting that it is neither firm nor definitive and that procedural flaws tainted the tribunal's decision. He stated his intention to pursue all available legal channels to defend himself, characterizing the resolution as an attempt to construct a political narrative based on a first-instance decision that could be overturned. The TAAM's resolution, issued on June 17, 2026, also mandates Vélez to pay over 5.6 million pesos for damages to public funds.

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and it is also important to point out that this matter had already been addressed and resolved previously; however, inexplicably, it was reactivated. Today we observe how a political narrative is being constructed through a first-instance resolution that can be reviewed and revoked by the courts themselves.