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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | August 2005 
Mexico's First Lady Made Bid to Quell a Controversy
 S. Lynne Walker - Copley News
| | Mexican first lady Marta Sahagún, shown in March, donated 36 outfits to a Mexico City-based cancer foundation in hopes of ending criticism over the money she has spent on her wardrobe. |
Mexico City – A St. John suit. An Armani dress. An Oscar de la Renta cocktail gown.
The elegant clothes worn by Mexico's first lady went to auction to quell a political controversy, but in an embarrasing display of disinterest only a handful of people showed up to bid.
It's been a rough couple of weeks for Mexico's first lady, who is known simply as "Marta."
Marta Sahagún hastily donated 36 outfits to a Mexico City-based cancer foundation last week in hopes of ending a barrage of criticism over the money she's spent on her wardrobe since she married Mexican President Vicente Fox four years ago.
Yesterday, the president's wife faced a new round of scrutiny when a book about corruption within the presidential family was released. The book raises questions about how Fox financed a remodeling project at the family ranch and about the sudden fortunes amassed by Sahagún's three sons from her first marriage.
The cover has vivid caricatures of Sahagún and Fox hugging huge bags of money.
Sahagún's problems stem from allegations that she used her influence to help her sons. The three sons are under congressional investigation for profiting from government financing for construction projects.
But the accusation that drew national attention focused on Sahagún's clothes.
Two women senators charged that Sahagún had lavished herself with designer clothes at taxpayers' expense. When Sahagún lashed out at her attackers, it looked like they had struck a nerve.
"I buy my clothes with my husband's money," retorted the outspoken first lady, who once considered running for the 2006 presidency.
Fox launched his own attack against the legislators, saying they were "purely wasting time" and insinuating that their statements about his wife's clothes smacked of a catfight.
"I say they should dedicate themselves to doing what they were supposed to do," he said. "I don't know why they were elected. But now that the public has seen them for what they are, they surely won't elect them again."
Fox also singled out Martha Lucía Micher, a legislator from the leftist Democratic Revolution Party who represents his home state of Guanajuato, for criticism. Micher, who heads a congressional investigation into abuse of influence by the Sahagún's sons, was shocked by the president's harsh words.
"We are not going after his wife. None of us is opposed to the president's wife dressing in a proper fashion," Micher said in an interview yesterday. "What we're opposed to is buying her clothes with public funds. We want her clothes to be bought with the president's salary."
On paper, it appears that somebody in the Mexican White House is spending fistfuls of pesos on clothes.
In 2001, the president's office had a budget of $23,500 for appropriate attire for official visits and receptions. By 2004, the budget had soared to $132,000.
Last month, a commission of legislators that sits in lieu of Congress during recess recommended the lower Chamber of Deputies strike the word "spouse" from the budget that allocates money for the presidency's living expenses.
Sahagún said she spent only 17.8 percent of the total clothing budget allotted from 2001 to 2003. Since 2003, she said she has spent nothing.
The problem is that nobody knows exactly how much of the money Sahagún spent on her clothes and how much went to the president, who isn't known as a fashion trend-setter.
When Fox travels in the Mexican countryside, he wears the same type of clothes that he did during his presidential campaign – a light-blue shirt, dark slacks and a windbreaker. On formal occasions, he wears conservative suits and, sometimes, patent leather cowboy boots.
Sahagún, on the other hand, has an eye for elegance.
Oscar de la Renta, Escada and Guadalajara-born Macario Jiménez are among the designers whose garments fill her closets. Her shoe collection is legendary and she is fond of elaborate jewelry.
At Sunday's auction, the public was offered a first-hand look at the first lady's exquisite taste.
Models paraded down the runway holding garments in an array of dazzling colors and fine fabrics.
There was a deep purple, floor-length gown with a matching shawl that Sahagún wore on her first visit to Washington, D.C., in September 2001 shortly after marrying Fox. A fuschia-colored silk dress by Escada accented by a matching bolero-length jacket was among the outfits she took on her trip to Jamaica in May.
"You have to admit they are pretty," Guadalupe Alejandre, founder of the Mexican Association to Help Children with Cancer, told the audience of about 50 as smiling models waved the outfits in the air.
Alejandre learned only last week that her organization had been chosen to receive the first lady's clothes.
She was summoned to the Mexican White House for a 7:15 a.m. appointment, and when she arrived she was hustled by the president's Secret Service into a news conference. There she was surprised with the news that Sahagún was donating the clothes to the cancer organization.
Everything happened so fast that the clothes Sahagún sent were wrinkled and hadn't been dry-cleaned.
Only 10 of the 36 garments were sold Sunday, raising about $5,100. "Obviously, it is not what we expected," Alejandre said. "We expected to sell all the clothes."
Congresswoman Micher offered a reason for the auction's failure.
"Señora Marta isn't famous enough for people to want to wear one of her dresses." |
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