Hundreds of protesters pushed into Mexico’s Senate as lawmakers weighed a contentious plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary, forcing the body to temporarily suspend its session.
The shut down came just hours after Mexico’s ruling party, Morena, wrangled the votes it needed to jam through the proposal after one member of an opposition party flipped to support it.
I have no context, nothing tells me whether or not Morena used a completely legal and normal process to change laws or if they held people at gunpoint to get the votes.
Not exactly at gunpoint and, as always, all the evidence for the claims is circumstantial but here it is:
Senator for Veracruz, Miguel Ángel Yunes Márquez (the one who “flipped”), is currently being investigated for falsifying his residence documents when he attempted to run for mayor of Veracruz in 2021. He then accused the current government of Veracruz (MORENA) of political prosecution and denounced the local courts for being under MORENA’s controll. He claimed it was an attempt to stop him from becoming senator. (sorry, dont know the technical terms in english)
An arrest warrant was issued against him in july since he was out of the country and they declared him as “fleeing”. He appealed, claiming he was outside for medical reasons and the warrant was suspended.
He had stated that he would vote against the reform as it is the position of his party (PAN) then 3 days ago stopped all comunications with his party and yesterday his father went to the senate as his representative to present his vote in favour of the reform, since he is apparently still to sick to attend the senate himself. Later that night, or quite early this morning, he was seen alongside his father when leaving the senate’s session.
But the plot thickens!
His father and former governor of the state of Veracruz (2016-2018), Miguel Ángel Yunes Linares, is also being investigated for corruption as during his administration a millionaire security system for the state was installed in the state of which several cameras dont work and many others were never installed in the first place.
He is also being investigated for a very similar crime, “Illicit enrichment”, when he was director of the “Institute for social security and safety for state workers” (ISSSTE; mostly public healthcare for state workers). Apparently the institute paid for several medicaments, equipment, and services that were never recieved during his administration.
But wait! Theres more.
His brother and former mayor of the city of Veracruz, Fernando Yunes Márquez is also being investigated for electoral crimes during his administration as he allegedly forced city workers, under threat of unemployment and blacklisting, to support his brothers candidacy (when he attempted, and failed, to run for mayor of the same city)
And for the cherry on top, his wife, Patricia Lobeira Rodríguez, is the current mayor of that city (Not that it really matters since there are no accusations against her but I always get uneasy when a whole familly is in the government)
The claim of “wrangling votes” is that they offered him inmunity for himself and his family if he changed his vote; Which MORENA can totally do when the courts fall under their control now that the reform has been aprooved. (It still needs ratifying but everything points that it will be soon)
Also worth noting is that the Yunes familly and MORENA (AMLO included) have been very “critical” of each other for several years so this seems like a very strange and unexpected “change of heart”.
I can post some sources if you want but they are in spanish.
I have no context, nothing tells me whether or not Morena used a completely legal and normal process to change laws or if they held people at gunpoint to get the votes.
Ah, I see what you mean now.
Not exactly at gunpoint and, as always, all the evidence for the claims is circumstantial but here it is:
Senator for Veracruz, Miguel Ángel Yunes Márquez (the one who “flipped”), is currently being investigated for falsifying his residence documents when he attempted to run for mayor of Veracruz in 2021. He then accused the current government of Veracruz (MORENA) of political prosecution and denounced the local courts for being under MORENA’s controll. He claimed it was an attempt to stop him from becoming senator. (sorry, dont know the technical terms in english)
An arrest warrant was issued against him in july since he was out of the country and they declared him as “fleeing”. He appealed, claiming he was outside for medical reasons and the warrant was suspended.
He had stated that he would vote against the reform as it is the position of his party (PAN) then 3 days ago stopped all comunications with his party and yesterday his father went to the senate as his representative to present his vote in favour of the reform, since he is apparently still to sick to attend the senate himself. Later that night, or quite early this morning, he was seen alongside his father when leaving the senate’s session.
But the plot thickens!
His father and former governor of the state of Veracruz (2016-2018), Miguel Ángel Yunes Linares, is also being investigated for corruption as during his administration a millionaire security system for the state was installed in the state of which several cameras dont work and many others were never installed in the first place.
He is also being investigated for a very similar crime, “Illicit enrichment”, when he was director of the “Institute for social security and safety for state workers” (ISSSTE; mostly public healthcare for state workers). Apparently the institute paid for several medicaments, equipment, and services that were never recieved during his administration.
But wait! Theres more.
His brother and former mayor of the city of Veracruz, Fernando Yunes Márquez is also being investigated for electoral crimes during his administration as he allegedly forced city workers, under threat of unemployment and blacklisting, to support his brothers candidacy (when he attempted, and failed, to run for mayor of the same city)
And for the cherry on top, his wife, Patricia Lobeira Rodríguez, is the current mayor of that city (Not that it really matters since there are no accusations against her but I always get uneasy when a whole familly is in the government)
The claim of “wrangling votes” is that they offered him inmunity for himself and his family if he changed his vote; Which MORENA can totally do when the courts fall under their control now that the reform has been aprooved. (It still needs ratifying but everything points that it will be soon)
Also worth noting is that the Yunes familly and MORENA (AMLO included) have been very “critical” of each other for several years so this seems like a very strange and unexpected “change of heart”.
I can post some sources if you want but they are in spanish.
That was a great explanation, thank you
Thanks and you’re welcome .