This Mexican Parliamentarian stripped as a protest against the passage of a new energy bill

A social media post claimed that a Mexican member of Parliament stripped while addressing hunger, poverty, and unemployment prevailing in the country. The post also shares an image related to the incident. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.

Claim: A Mexican MP stripped in the Parliament, while addressing about hunger, poverty, and unemployment prevailing in the country.
Fact: This incident of a Mexican Parliamentarian stripping off in the Parliament dates back to 2013. While it is true that the MP stripped, he did this as a protest against the passage of a ‘New Energy law’, that opens the state-controlled oil sector to foreign investment and not against depriving state of hunger, poverty, and unemployment as claimed in the post. Several news agencies reported the news back then. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.

The image indeed shows a Mexican member of Parliament who stripped in parliament and the incident dates back to 2013. However, the reason for him doing so is the passage of a new energy bill, opening the state-controlled oil sector to foreign investment.

Google search with relevant keywords yielded multiple news reports that published similar images back in 2013 (here & here). As per these reports, following the passage of a new energy bill, which allows foreign investment in the state-owned oil firms, MP Antonio Garcia Conejo, a member of the opposition Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), stripped down to his underwear to show his rejection of the bill.

Opposition parties protested against the law as the law allows private oil and gas companies to drill for oil and gas with the state-run firm Pemex in exchange for a share of the profits. Several news agencies reported the visuals of the MP stripping, denouncing the passage of the law. None of these news reports stated that the MP did so, against the prevalence of hunger, poverty, and unemployment in the country.