Overview
- The court said a simplified contract for an oil portrait of Minister Lenia Batres was adjudicated but never formalized, so the service was not provided and no payment was made.
- The document visible online was contract 40250054, dated October 3, 2025, describing a direct award worth 40,600 pesos for a 50 by 40 centimeter “live portrait.”
- Artist Diana Carolina López declined the commission due to prior commitments and notified the court in writing on October 16, 2025.
- The Supreme Court stated that the contract file remained on the Citizen Transparency Portal due to an administrative omission and later spread on social media.
- Officials said Batres neither chose the artist nor set contract terms, noting portraits are part of a historical registry, while her team said the attempted hiring occurred under Norma Piña and that she still has no official portrait.