A Baja California Sur lawmaker saw no harm in posting photos of her new car, a Mercedes-Benz CLA Coupe with a price tag of over half a million pesos (US $26,300), on social media.

But the reaction, mostly critical, soon followed.

While the president of Mexico drives around the country’s capital in a simple Volkswagen Jetta, Deputy Perla Flores Leyva of La Paz is driving a luxury vehicle, ostensibly a gift from her husband, whom she described as a “successful entrepreneur.”

In the photo, the Social Encounter Party politician is at a dealership where her husband is handing over the keys to her new ride.

A few social media users commented that Flores “can do as she pleases with her money.”

But another noted that the government’s stance on austerity was incongruous with the purchase. “. . . That’s what bothers us, the people. Add to that the fact that many streets are pocked with potholes, there are no streetlights, etc. Deputies say they are representing us, what we voted for, and they fail us . . .”

The car’s make gave the incident more notoriety than its price, said the deputy, “and it is less than the cost of other cars bought by other deputies.”

Flores saw no contradiction between her new car and the government’s austerity policies, because state deputies lowered their salaries by 30% after they took office and eliminated perks such as travel allowances and insurance.

“This is not the first time that [my husband] has given me a car. What’s different now is that I am in politics, and I understand,” said Flores.

Source: El Universal (sp)