Spanish nationality law grandchildren controversy at Mexico City consulate, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico City): The political party Iustitia Europa has filed a complaint with Spain’s National Court over alleged irregularities in the processing of Spanish nationality applications at the Consulate General of Spain in Mexico City, under the so-called grandchildren law.
The legal action follows reporting by The Objective, which revealed that the consular office had altered the dates of dozens of applications with correction fluid so they would appear to fall within the legal deadline. The party is asking that possible offenses be investigated, including falsification of a public document, administrative prevarication and breach of custody of documents.
The complaint, filed by Iustitia Europa president Luis María Pardo Rodríguez, asks authorities to identify those responsible for the alleged document alterations, determine how many files were affected and clarify whether these actions could have consequences for the Spanish electoral roll. The 14-page filing was submitted Wednesday at 9:15 a.m.
through LexNET, according to the submission receipt reviewed by the publication.
The initiative relies on 11 reports published by The Objective between October 18 and November 4, which the party has included as documentation. One of these is a investigation published the same Wednesday, which showed photographs of official forms in which the submission date had been covered with white correction fluid and replaced with October 22, 2025, the last day of the deadline to apply for nationality through this route.
According to sources consulted by the publication, when some files were to be sent to other consular offices, new annexes were prepared bearing the date October 22 to avoid visible evidence of the correction. The complaint asks that the consular deputy head, María Prada, who The Objective’s reporting attributes with instructing the date changes, be questioned, along with the consul general and officials of the Consular Civil Registry.
The complaint also seeks testimony from former Spanish ambassador to Mexico Juan Duarte regarding his alleged involvement in the file of Felipe Salvador Ruiz de Velasco, a 93-year-old Mexican citizen whose naturalization was the subject of another investigation by the publication. According to published documents, that file contained an internal warning about possible noncompliance with legal requirements.
The party further requests that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Consulate General and the Directorate General for Legal Security and Public Faith provide files processed between October 1 and November 30, 2025, especially those involving appearances after the deadline. Iustitia Europa states that the files should be examined to determine whether recorded dates match the administrative actions actually carried out.
The distinction matters because the regulations allowed an in-person appointment after October 22, 2025, provided the applicant had requested the appointment within the deadline and could prove it with the corresponding electronic receipt. A later appearance therefore does not in itself constitute an irregularity, the report notes.
The complaint moves the irregularities reported by the publication over recent weeks into the criminal sphere. Beyond the date alterations, the filing asks for review of nationality files that, according to published reports, may have received unusual administrative treatment.
These include the files of Felipe Salvador Ruiz de Velasco, former Mexican senator Nancy de la Sierra Arámburo and Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller, wife of former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The party asks that the complete documentation of these procedures be incorporated to verify whether the decisions adopted complied with the requirements set out in Spanish legislation. The filing also requests that The Objective provide the documents, photographs and communications published in its investigations, along with original files in its possession, while respecting professional secrecy and the protection of journalistic sources.
