Andy López Beltrán, AMLO's son, was caught in a luxurious 5-star hotel in Tokyo.

A photograph that has gone viral on social media and in the media shows Andrés Manuel López Beltrán—better known as “Andy,” son of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and current Secretary of Organization for the Morena party—at the buffet of the exclusive Hotel Okura, a five-star resort located in the heart of Tokyo.

The image was revealed by journalist Claudio Ochoa Huerta through Latinus, a media outlet that has been a constant critic of the ruling party. The image also features federal representative Daniel Asaf Manjarrez, a figure close to the former president and who previously served as his advisory coordinator.

The Okura Hotel is no ordinary place. According to its website, the simplest room costs over $770 per night (around $15,000 Mexican pesos), while the Ambassador Suite, with breakfast included, can cost up to $57,620 Mexican pesos per night.

This type of accommodation contrasts with the austerity rhetoric promoted by AMLO himself and by leaders of the Morena party, who have repeatedly reiterated the need to combat the waste of public resources and live with "courageous honesty."

The trip took place just as Morena's National Council meeting was being held on July 20, which Andy did not attend. Although the party initially explained his absence as "personal reasons," it soon became known that the young politician was in Asia.

Gerardo Fernández Noroña, president of the Senate, responded to the criticism and defended López Beltrán: "People have the right to rest, too," he declared, attempting to calm the debate.

But the leaked images, combined with a context of growing discontent over the privileges of the political class, make the "absence for personal reasons" take on a controversial tone.

This episode is not an isolated one. Recently, Representative Ricardo Monreal Ávila was photographed at the Westin Palace in Madrid, another luxury establishment. Similarly, Mario Delgado, Secretary of Public Education, was photographed at the Pousada de Lisboa in Portugal.

These cases have called into question the consistency between the Republican austerity rhetoric and the lifestyles of some of the key leaders of the party founded by AMLO.

The reaction on social media was swift. Hundreds of users on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook harshly questioned López Beltrán's public image, pointing out that his position within the party was created specifically for him and pointing to a possible case of nepotism.

Furthermore, some political analysts warn that this type of behavior could affect the party's image heading into the midterm elections and the consolidation of the so-called "second tier of transformation."

So far, neither Morena nor López Beltrán himself have offered an official explanation about the source of the funds used to pay for the trip and accommodation. The lack of transparency opens the door to further criticism and demands clear answers, especially in a context where citizens demand consistency between rhetoric and practice.

The figure of "Andy" López Beltrán has been repeatedly criticized for his low media profile and growing political influence within Morena. This latest scandal, though seemingly minor, could become a symbol of the erosion of the austerity rhetoric, one of the fundamental pillars of López Obrador's administration.

Is Morena losing its moral compass in the face of power? The image of Andy at a luxury hotel buffet in Japan might be, for many, the clearest portrait of that contradiction.