The coronation of Fátima Bosh as Miss Universe 2025 has caused a huge scandal, as a wave of criticism and accusations of fraud against the contest have poured in from around the world and on social media. The displeasure with the Mexican winner manifested in boos at the gala held at the Impact Arena in Pak Kret, Thailand. “Miss Universe number 74 is… Mexico,” was announced, and immediately, euphoria overflowed among her Mexican followers. Social media was also flooded with messages along the same lines, many of which highlighted that the current owner of Miss Universe is Mexican Raúl Rocha, who has business dealings with Fátima Bosh’s father. Franco-Lebanese pianist Omar Harfouch announced his resignation as a judge of the pageant, citing a lack of transparency and a supposed “secret vote” in which the 30 finalists were chosen without evaluation by the eight-person jury. Harfouch claims that in a recorded interview 24 hours before the coronation, he declared that Mexico would be the winner because Rocha maintains “businesses” with the beauty queen’s father, Bernarno Bosch, a long-standing entrepreneur in the state-owned oil company Pemex. The rest of the audience, which included people from other Latin American countries, also expressed their disagreement with boos, whistles, and shouts of fraud. Videos began to circulate on TikTok showing that the discontent was evident even outside the venue, where boos and cries of cheating in the election could also be heard.
