On September 24, 2020, after Jaime Cárdenas resigned as head of the Indep, the institute that sells seized assets, President López Obrador said: “Pedimos lealtad a ciegas al proyecto de transformación, porque el pueblo nos eligió para eso.” “We ask for blind loyalty to the project of transformation, because the people elected us for that.” He said that the loyalty was owed to the project, not to him. Cárdenas had said that his loyalty was reflective, not blind.
In February 2026, Expansión reported that Julio Scherer, in his book Ni venganza ni perdón, describes López Obrador’s formula for appointments: “colaboradores con 90% de lealtad y 10% de capacidad,” collaborators with 90 percent loyalty and 10 percent ability.