In a joint press conference between the General Secretary of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) Beatriz Mojica Morga and Ricardo Anaya Cortés, leader of the National Action Party (PAN), the PRD official reiterated that none of her party’s candidates have received demands from organized crime to join the the campaign of the PAN candidate for governor of Tamaulipas, Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca. Despite local PRD leader Alberto Sánchez Neri stating that at least three of his candidates were forced to attend an event last April 22 in favor of García Cabeza de Vaca, Mojica Morga denied these accusations.
“Until now we have no statement from the candidates on having been pressured by organized crime.”
For his part, Anaya Cortés, national leader of the PAN, said that some media have misinterpreted his visit to Tamaulipas last weekend.
Words were put in my mouth that I never said, because I never spoke of our candidates in Tamaulipas, and much less in any press conference.”
— Ricardo Anaya Cortés, national leader of the PAN
Mojica Morga called on the people of Tamaulipas to denounce before authorities any “concrete” situations they may know about, and asked national leader Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Manlio Fabio Beltrónes Rivera — who also claimed that crime was behind defections in favor of the PAN — to back up his statements by going to the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
“He should go to the PGR, thats what we’d like to see. I would ask of him to go to the PGR and make the necessary complaints on alleged links of any sort, so it doesn’t remain just media statements for electoral purposes.”
Anaya Cortés added that the accusations made by the PRI leader on organized crime supporting the PAN’s candidate were a “hoax,” that his candidate was honest and that proof of it was that his last post had been as president of the national defense commission of the Mexican senate.
“The PRI voted for him to head that commission, so they shouldn’t start making up stories now. Its very easy for the president of the PRI to come out and say that those leaving his party to support the PAN have links to organized crime, it is an irresponsible and flippant claim, as well a being absolutely cynical, because if a political party in Tamaulipas is linked to organized crime thats the PRI, with two former governors sought in 180 countries for laundering the money of Los Zetas and the Cartel del Golfo.”
RICARDO ORTIZ