While nearly naked, a member of Mexico’s congress said, “You are ashamed to see me naked, but you are not ashamed to see your people in the streets naked.”
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A Mexican lawmaker spoke nearly naked, but didn’t make statement attributed to him on social media
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- A Mexican lawmaker stripped during a congressional debate, but he didn’t make the statement attributed to him on social media about "people in the streets naked."
An old image of a Mexican politician standing in front of a lectern wearing only his underwear is drawing social media attention — but it is getting one essential fact wrong: what he said when he did it.
"In Mexico, a congressman removes all his clothes during Congressional debate," an Aug. 12 Instagram post says. "‘You are ashamed to see me naked, but you are not ashamed to see your people in the streets naked, barefooted, desperate, jobless and hungry after you have stolen all their money and wealth’.........he told the parliament."
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
The photo is real, but we found no evidence that the quote is authentic.
The politician, Antonio García Conejo of the left-leaning Democratic Revolution Party, made headlines in 2013 by stripping during debate in congress to protest against legislation opening the state-controlled oil sector to foreign investment, BBC News reported.
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We listened to Conejo’s speech as he removed his clothes and didn’t hear the statement mentioned in the Instagram post.
We also found no news reports or other credible sources quoting him as saying that.
"This is how you’re stripping the nation," BBC News quoted Conejo saying. "Where is the benefit? I’m not ashamed, what you’re doing is a shame."
Conejo’s disrobing didn’t work. The Mexican congress still voted to allow private and foreign exploration and drilling for the country’s oil and gas.
Although Conejo removed most of his clothes during his speech, he did not do so to protest "people in the streets naked, barefooted, desperate, jobless and hungry after you have stolen all their money and wealth," as the Instagram post claimed. We rate this post Mostly False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Aug. 12, 2023
YouTube, Se desnuda el diputado federal, Antonio García Conejo, en Cámara de Diputados, Dec. 12, 2013
BBC News, Mexican MP strips off in protest at energy decision, Dec. 13, 2013
BBC News, Mexican Congress approves controversial oil and gas bill, Dec. 13, 2013
ABC News, Lawmaker Strips in Congress to Protest Energy Bill, Dec. 14, 2013
CBS News, Mexican Congress passes bill opening oil industry to U.S., others, Dec. 12, 2023
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A Mexican lawmaker spoke nearly naked, but didn’t make statement attributed to him on social media
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