Alejandrina Guzman, daughter of imprisoned Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, has been giving out aid packages in the poorest areas of Guadalajara, the second biggest city in Mexico.
The Mexican economy has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and many people are struggling financially as the country enters severe recession.
In a video recently released on social media, Alejandrina is seen packing provisions such as food, oil, rice, sugar and toilet paper into cardboard boxes, with all boxes bearing logos and a stencil style image of her father. The narrator of the video calls them ‘Chapo’s provisions‘.
The aid is linked to Alejandrina’s company, where she markets clothing and alcoholic beverages associated with her father’s name under the ‘El Chapo 701‘ brand. The brand gets its name from a Forbes listing in 2009 that ranked him the 701st richest person in the world.
“We are working and contributing. A great pleasure to visit your homes and give you these Chapo handouts,” said Alejandrina in a post on the company’s Facebook page. Photos show her wearing a face mask with El Chapo’s face, handing out parcels.
Drug cartels in Mexico have also been very public with their contributions to poorer residents. Several have given away food and aid boxes in the past week, ensuring photos and videos are posted on various social media channels as a testament to their generosity.
In one such video posted on social media, crowds of people can be seen scrabbling for boxes stamped with the logo of the Jalisco New Generation cartel. A printed logo on the package reads: “From your friends, CJNG, COVID-19 contingency support”.
Across the country in the eastern state of Tamaulipas, the Gulf Cartel also distributed aid parcels, and again images were circulated on social media. The packages made reference to “Señor 46, Vaquero”, an apparent nod to the cartel’s local head.
So does this point to generosity on the part of the cartels, or is it a kind of propaganda to embed themselves firmly in the communities? There’s no denying that people around the poor communities will see the cartels as having provided more help during the adjudged absence of the state at this time.
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