By Frank Parlato
In Mexico City, students of Executive Success Program (ESP) and their friends are gossiping about the sexual orientation of ESP’s two leaders in Mexico, Alex Betancourt and Emiliano Salinas.
The gossip is spreading beyond the corridors of ESP.
The two men operate the Mexico City Center of the secretive success coaching programs created by Keith Raniere, which is known in Mexico as Programas de Éxito Ejecutivo, Inc. and as both Executive Success Programs and NXIVM in the United States.
According to sources, Mr. Salinas and Mr. Betancourt are being ridiculed for being gay in Mexico City. The slang word being used to describe the men are “marica” or “maricon” behind their backs.
While in America, it is considered politically incorrect to denigrate people who have marital, romantic or purely sexual relations with members of their own sex, in Mexico. and particularly in Mexico City, denigration based on sexual orientation is widely practiced and accepted.
Frank Report makes no editorial comment on the culture of either nation.
However, I strongly support the freedom of consenting adults to develop relationships with whomever they chose, preferably without ridicule, and I support the right of free speech for all individuals, even if that speech is sometimes offensive and derogatory.
This report is not intended to ridicule Mr. Salinas or Mr. Betancourt or, conversely, chastise the growing number of people who are gossiping about the two men. This is merely a report on the context of the gossip, and the fact that Mr. Salinas and Mr. Betancourt, who evidently attempted to keep their gay relationship secret, now appear to be the butt of some unflattering gossip.
Frank Report first broke the news of their secret, longstanding gay relationship in July, 2017.
While it was not known to the general public, it was no secret in Clifton Park, the headquarters of ESP and home of Mr. Raniere.
Scores of ESP students in Clifton Park were aware of the “closet” relationship of their two Mexico City leaders. They were known publicly as business partners who ran the Mexico City Center, but it was known only privately that the two were partners in love.
After Frank Report broke the story, gossipers in Mexico City started spreading this surprising news outside the circle of ESP students. Mr. Salinas is famous in Mexico and is the son of former Mexican president Carlos Salinas.
Emiliano staked out his own reputation as a sort of macho man and prior to his marriage as a playboy well versed at attracting and pleasing members of the opposite sex. Few knew about his secret gay life.
Mr. Salinas recently married famous female sex symbol and actress Ludwika Paleta – which only added to his heterosexual image.
Now, his old reputation is unraveling.
Chilangos [slang for natives of Mexico City] are saying that Mr. Salinas is a classic “chacal” [a gay man who pretends to be a straight, Macho man] and his lover, Mr. Betancourt is his “uma loca” [the passive, effeminate gay partner].
The breaking of the news of Mr. Salinas’ and Mr. Betancourt’s gay relationship, as reported in Frank Report, was not done to ‘out’ the two gay lovers, but rather to help explain the layers of secrecy and control exerted over his followers by ESP leader, Keith Raniere.
Mr. Raniere reportedly brought the two business partners together as a gay lovers to strengthen the Mexican City Center, where large cash payments are made and the money is secreted from Mexico to Clifton Park for Mr. Ranier’s use, according to sources.
Mr. Raniere reportedly suggested the two men keep their relationship secret because Mexicans generally do not approve of homosexuality in that largely Catholic country.
It was reported that Mr. Salinas is bisexual and his marriage to Ms. Paleta was not solely for her to provide a pretense of heterosexuality, or in the common parlance, to be his “beard.” However, sources in ESP have said that while it is unclear if Mr. Salinas has a sexual relationships with his wife, she is having sexual relationships regularly with other men, some of whom are followers of Keith Raniere.
Normally, this is indicative of the traditional beard relationship – and these same sources say that Mr. Salinas “swings both ways” and has sexual relationships with other women, his wife, other men and his partner, Mr. Betancourt.
Some sources say that Mr. Salinas is as sexually active as his mentor Keith Raniere. While Mr. Salinas is said to “swing both ways”, Mr. Raniere’s sexual exploits tend to be generally heterosexual and veer toward significantly younger females including girls as young as age 12. This has been well documented in an award winning news series in the Albany Times Union.
It is not known if Mr. Salinas is sexually active with teen or pre-teen boys or girls.
The Mexican federal age of consent is 12.
Ironically, both Mr. Salinas [with his wife, Ludwika] and Mr. Betancourt [with a surrogate mother] have recently announced the birth of twins. That means four children for the couple [three boys and one girl].
Mr. Betancourt openly acknowledged he had a surrogate mother give birth to his twins. Mr. Salinas and Ms. Paleta told the media that Ms. Paleta carried the twins and gave birth. However, reliable sources told Frank Report that a surrogate mother carried the twins of Mr. Salinas and gave birth to them in San Diego, making the Salinas twins American citizens.
Chilangos in the past have called Mr. Salinas, “fresa”, a slang word used to describe a spoiled, and pampered son of a father who has great wealth.
Mr. Salinas’ father, Carlos Salinas, former president of Mexico, by all accounts left office far wealthier than when he was elected. After leaving office, he emigrated from Mexico to England and is said to be one of the richest men on earth, that wealth having been obtained, his critics say, from robbing the nation.
His son, Emiliano remained in Mexico to advance the teaching of his master Vanguard [Mr. Raniere]. Both Emiliano Salinas and his partner, Mr. Betancourt, are reportedly independently wealthy.
Meantime, Chilangos are literally going wild with salacious gossip, adding to it a plethora of derogatory slang words, including calling Mr. Salinas “oso”. [literally “bear” but slang for a gay man with a lot of body hair] and using the same word, “oso” for a second, double meaning: Que Oso [how embarrassing]. [Embarrassing in Spanish is ’embarzoso, and is sometimes simply ‘oso,’]
Or to translate more colloquially: The bear [Mr. Salinas] embarrasses us.
Laughter often ensues with these various play on words at Mr. Salinas’ expense.
While surprise and embarrassment is the mockery of the day for Mr. Salinas – suggestive of how he is disgracing Mexico and his family – the opposite form of mockery is being undertaken with his partner, Mr. Betancourt.
Mr. Salinas is the far more famous of the two.
Recently, lively conversations about Mr. Betancourt are being overheard and often focus on how “obvious” or “noticeable” it is that he is gay. This is curious since prior to Frank Report breaking the news, it was not common knowledge in Mexico City.
Once again there are multiple play on words.
‘Se le nota a ligas’, means, literally “it is noticeable from ‘leagues’. A league is three miles. The inflection of the word “nota” [noticeable] makes it evident that what is meant is that Mr. Betancourt is noticeably gay and that you can detect it at first glance.
The pointed use of the word “obvio” or “obvious”, replete with humorous facial expressions and a faux tone of severity, is now also being overheard and is being used to deride Mr. Betancourt as being gay without using the slang word for gay [maricon or marico].
The point of the jest is not to use the word gay.
For instance:
¿Se le nota? [Do you notice it?]
No es nada obvio [No it is not obvious]
This is meant to be droll and is meant to mean the opposite of what is stated, i.e.: it is very obvious that he is gay.
This is followed by smiles or derisive laughter.
While Frank Report recognizes it is not effective to preach to people who are enjoying mocking out others, since that only encourages more mockery, this publication regrets that people denigrate others for being different.
Since the mockery and gossip surrounding Mr. Salinas and Mr. Betancourt appears to be growing daily, perhaps the best pathway for the two men is to come “out of the closet”, and show the bravery many American gays made in the last few decades by going public with their being gay.
In America, this paved the way for gay Americans to live with less fear and led to laws protecting them.
As proclaimed leaders of thought and teachers of higher ethics, both Mr. Salinas and Mr. Betancourt might be inclined to take the lead in fostering a more tolerant Mexico. If they came “out of the closet’ and told the world they are gay [or had/have a gay relationship] they will make an ethical and bold stance for the right of all adults to chose who to love and how to love.
