The attack against the mayor of Banderilla once again turned on alerts about the climate of insecurity that prevails in Veracruz and reopened the debate on the political pressure faced by municipal presidents, said Vicente Aguilar, coordinator of the State Executive Commission of the Labor Party (PT).
During a press conference, the PT leader ruled out that the attack was directly related to Morena; However, he acknowledged that there is pressure on mayors from other parties, particularly the PT, to join the party in power.
“They have told us that. There are cases where pressure is exerted, but there are also mayors who are flirting politically and Morena opens its arms. That’s where the shark eats them,” he said.
On another topic, Aguilar referred to the financial situation of some municipalities, mentioning the case of Magdalena (Manlio Fabio Altamirano), governed by Mayor Juliana Neva Quirazco, a PT activist, who faces a debt inherited from previous administrations.
He explained that, in the face of social pressure, the municipal president reached agreements with creditors, contributing a part of the debt and establishing a gradual payment scheme. He pointed out that these types of scenarios are frequent when new administrations take over the municipal government and find themselves with compromised finances.
In the electoral field, Aguilar confirmed that in the municipality of Tamiahua the Labor Party will compete alone, nominating again its previous candidate, who already does political work and forms its slate.
Regarding alliances, he specified that at the federal level the PT will go in coalition with Morena and the Green Party, mainly in federal deputies, while the alliances at the state and municipal level are still being analyzed.
“We will sit down with the leaders of the Green and Morena to assess what is best for Veracruz and the Labor Party, but we demand dignified treatment as allies,” he warned.
The PT leader stressed that the PT will not accept agreements without political respect and left open the possibility of redefining alliances if equitable conditions do not exist.
Regarding the migration of PT mayors to Morena, he confirmed that five municipal presidents have left the party, including those of Tempoal, Calcahualco, Lerdo de Tejada, Pajapan and El Higo, which he attributed to a lack of political loyalty.
“The Labor Party has its doors open to whoever wants to work, but also to whoever wants to leave. What cannot be justified is that a mayor wins with a party and then betrays the people who gave him their vote,” he stated.
Finally, he acknowledged that in other municipalities citizen discontent has been generated due to alleged acts of nepotism and bad practices, situations that, he said, should be reviewed case by case to avoid repeating behaviors that are criticized today in other parties.
