Zacatecas governor opens doors to governor's luxurious mansion

As promised, Zacatecas Governor Alejandro Tello Cristerna “opened the doors” to the controversial and nearly 20,000-square-foot Zacatecas Governor's Mansion, which was remodeled in 2011 using over US$8 million in taxpayer money by then governor Miguel Alonso Reyes, who's currently facing several criminal charges at the federal level.

Current Governor Tello Cristerna chose not to live in the mansion and instead live in his own private home during his time in office.

The mansion's renovation caused an uproar in 2012 after several news agencies across the country questioned the multimillionaire investment, for which the private company Desarrolladora y Constructora Metro, S.A. de C.V. was contracted to carry out the work.

According to the incumbent governor, who's a member of the same party as Miguel Alonso Reyes, the PRI, he claims that public outcry has been based “mostly on rumors, not facts,” and as part of an effort to quash some of these rumors that have persisted for years now, he invited journalists into the home on Christmas eve on Saturday.

Pictures of the walkthrough show that the mansion's floors were replaced with marble and hardwood, the older doors were replaced with fine mahogany wood, a 25-seat VIP theater was added to the residence, a jacuzzi was installed in the master bedroom, as well as a large walk-in custom closet, among many other rennovations.

Many have criticized the state government's decision to invite journalists to the home on December 24, a day when most Mexicans were way too preoccupied with celebrating Christmas to even notice the governor's attempt at transparency.