Spain denied Peña residence “for exceptional reasons”

Armando G. Tejeda

Correspondent

Newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, September 21, 2022, p. 8

Madrid. The Spanish Executive, chaired by the socialist Pedro Sánchez, informed the Congress of Deputies that former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto resides in Spain legally, thanks to the fact that he obtained a visa as an international investoralso called golden visa.

The Secretary of State for Relations with the Courts informed the Congress of Deputies in writing about the Peña Nieto case, in response to a parliamentary question from deputy Jon Iñárritu, of the leftist Basque pro-independence party EH-Bildu.

The response of the Spanish government also recognized that the former Mexican president tried to directly obtain residence in Spain. for exceptional reasonsbut that the request was rejected for not complying with the necessary procedures.

The call golden visa It is provided for in legislation approved in 2013 during the government of right-wing Mariano Rajoy, who was trying to revive the battered Spanish economy, then mired in a deep depression.

With this immigration regulation, known for its elitist nature, the government of the time sought to attract foreign investors in the real estate sector. Residence in Spain is obtained in this way through a minimum investment of half a million euros (11 million pesos) in that branch.

The response from the Spanish government explained that Peña Nieto is the holder of a residence permit as an investor in accordance with the 2013 law on support for entrepreneurs and their internationalization.

He allocated 570 thousand euros to a commercial premises in Madrid

The former president of Mexico credited a investment for a value of 570 thousand euros, free of charges and encumbrances, in a commercial premises located in Madridpointed out the official report, which thus referred to a property in the name of Peña Nieto in the Chamberí neighborhood.

The government warned in its response that to obtain authorization it is not It is necessary to prove other investments, so it is unknown what other assets Peña Nieto might have for the purposes of obtaining the authorization and the investments or capital that Peña Nieto may have globally in Spain are unknown..

He also acknowledged that the former Mexican president tried to obtain a stay in the country alleging exceptional reasonsbut when requesting a residence permit for cases not provided for in the Immigration Regulations, was inadmissible for processing for not meeting the requirements for it.

In other words, the Spanish government rejected the former president’s first request, who then decided to request the golden visa.

Peña Nieto has lived regularly in Spain since October 2020, when he installed his residence in a luxurious urbanization in the north of the Community of Madrid, in the town of Guadalix de la Sierra, 40 kilometers from the capital.

The housing complex is a security fort, with billionaire neighbors who are very jealous of their privacy. It is one of the few areas in the country where the free movement of people is not allowed and where there is a surveillance and control system that prevents the entry of strangers or onlookers.