For Luis Carbonell de la Hoz, there’s no doubt: the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), led in Veracruz by Governor Rocío Nahle, “does lie, steal elections, and betray.” With concern, the state leader of the Morena party speaks about what happened in Poza Rica and Papantla, where he claims fraud was committed that robbed them of victory in the June 1 elections.
“It’s a bad precedent for democracy and for institutions,” he says, rubbing his hands together. “What we’re experiencing here in Veracruz today could later be repeated in the Senate, in some federal or local district, in the governorship itself, and in the presidency.”
Luis Carbonell questions the autonomy of the Local Public Electoral Body (OPLE) and the judges who make up the Veracruz Electoral Tribunal (TEV), which he holds responsible for submitting to political pressure to overturn the victories of his candidates: Mariano Romero in Papantla and Emilio Olvera in Poza Rica.
He also anticipates that they will take legal action, as well as social mobilizations, to defend two results that he considers legitimate. This, he explains, is achieved with the support of their national leader, Jorge Álvarez Máynez. “We have a great team of women and men who built the alternative that Veracruz represents today, with the constant support of our national leader, Jorge Álvarez Máynez, who has been attentive and vigilant.”
Election Processes in Poza Rica
Citizen Movement (MC) emerged as the second-largest political force in the state in the last election, obtaining nearly 600,000 votes and 41 victories in municipalities across the state. Its most notable achievements were Papantla, Poza Rica, and Zongolica, the district capitals. However, the victories in the two northern municipalities were overturned through electoral challenges.
On September 16, TEV judges ruled to modify the results of the Poza Rica municipal election, reversing the victory granted to Movimiento Ciudadano and its candidate, Emilio Olvera. The ruling arose from an appeal filed by Morena candidate Adanely Rodríguez.
It was the TEV magistrates who ordered a full recount of votes in the Poza Rica mayoral election, after accepting the request of the Morena candidate, who alleged the existence of cloned or counterfeit ballots. On September 17, the OPLE revoked Emilio Olvera’s majority certificate and granted it to Adanely Rodríguez.
“No one can question a victory as resounding as the one we obtained in Poza Rica, with more than 5 percent of the vote. Morena steals elections, lies, and betrays; they manipulated the electoral packets, tampered with the meaning of the vote, annulling votes that were in favor of the MC,” reiterates Luis Carbonell, who anticipates organized actions with the population and before federal electoral bodies.
“In the face of this collusion between the electoral bodies and the State, we will go to the Regional Chamber and, if necessary, the Superior Chamber, because Movimiento Ciudadano is not just a party, it is the voice of a new generation that refuses to give up. We will continue fighting, we will continue organizing,” he said, supported by elected mayors who had gathered for a training session at a hotel in Xalapa.
In the case of Papantla, Carbonell de la Hoz once again dismissed as fraudulent the fact that, in a final count—with the opening of ballot boxes in the city of Xalapa—the OPLE (Public Opposition to the People’s Party) gave the victory to the Morena candidate, Gonzalo Flores Castellanos, who garnered fewer votes in the preliminary results than his MC opponent, Mariano Romero.
“In the case of Papantla, with the tally sheets in hand, we had won by 580 votes, and they illegally reversed the situation by transferring the vote counts to Xalapa, in collusion with the president of the OPLE (Public Electoral Organization), Marisol Delgadillo, who gave them the keys to the warehouses so they could commit the greatest electoral fraud in the recent history of Veracruz, validated by a local electoral court that I would call a caricature,” said the lawyer.
The leader reiterates that what happened in Papantla and Poza Rica could set a bad precedent for democracy, now that the judiciary has been renewed. “We have forcefully pointed out the fraud, and today I want to send a warning message to all of Mexico: the democratic regime is at risk, and that is why we will continue to fight. We will defend the victories legally, but also socially, because victories come from the collective.”
Source: lasillarota
