Pemex Denies Ties to Miss Universe Owners Amid Win Controversy

The Mexican state oil company Pemex denied any relationship with the owners of the Miss Universe pageant and the recent victory of Mexican Fátima Bosch Fernández, the daughter of a company executive. Following the win, it was reported in Mexican media that Fátima Bosch is the daughter of Bernardo Bosch Hernández, current head of Safety and Health at Pemex, who was the executive coordinator in the exploration and production area in 2023 when the oil company awarded a multi-million dollar contract to a company owned by Rocha. Last Friday, the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, congratulated Bosch, stating she was 'an example of courage for all Mexicans and for women.' She also said that the congratulatory message on social media for Fátima Bosch's Miss Universe victory was posted 'amid the popular enthusiasm generated by the Mexican's win.' The state company also clarified that 'it has no influence over the executives of the Miss Universe international pageant, and the congratulatory message to Fátima Bosch Fernández was issued in the context of the popular enthusiasm for her victory.' In a statement issued on Sunday, Pemex stated it has no contractual relationship with Soluciones Gasíferas del Sur, owned by Raúl Rocha, a co-owner of Miss Universe, and added that it also has no influence over the pageant's executives. The 25-year-old became the fourth Mexican to win the title, after Lupita Jones in 1991, Ximena Navarrete in 2010, and Andrea Meza in 2020. 'Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) informs that, due to due diligence, an 11-month contract was signed in February 2023 with the jointly participating companies Servicios PJP4 de México S.A. de C.V. and Soluciones Gasíferas del Sur S.A. de C.V. It should be noted that to date, there are no active contractual relationships,' Pemex stated in its release. Bosch prevailed against Thailand's Veena Praveenar and Venezuela's Stephany Abasaly, who finished third in a pageant featuring women from 120 countries and territories, including nine mothers, a transgender woman, a genocide survivor, and the first-ever representative from Palestine. Hailing from the state of Tabasco (east), Bosch won the award held in Thailand amid controversy where Nawat Itsaragrisil, director of Miss Universe Thailand, tried to silence her during a pre-final session for not posting event content on her social media.