The now-former governors of the states of Sonora and Veracruz, Guillermo Padrés and Javier Duarte, claim in public to be the nation’s greatest and most benevolent brothers of charity. Yet for the meantime both have been deprived of their rights in their own political parties as they confront a barrage of charges of corruption and suffering what clearly is a lynching by the media.
Sonora’s Padrés, who finished his mandate a year ago, was suspended Wednesday by the National Action Party (PAN) as an active and influential member as the number of arrest warrants increased to eleven, on the last count Thursday. He is now, despite several “amparos,” or protection against arrest warrants he’s obtained from different judges, a wanted man.
Also on Wednesday, Veracruz’s Duarte went to a television program to announce he was stepping down from the governor’s post 48 days before his mandate comes to an end on Nov. 30. Duarte now left office to face 53 different lawsuits alleging corruption during his tenure.
There are two similarities between Padrés and Duarte. The amount of illicit actions during their administration is too huge to hide yet both claim innocence in each and one of the counts charged with and claim to be persecuted from their abundant political foes.
A third similarity is that Padrés’ administration became so unpopular during the 2015 Sonora state election for governor that he lost to the PRI candidate Claudia Pavlovich, who is now his worst nightmare.
In Veracruz, Duarte lost to his PAN foe Miguel Ángel Yunes who has vowed to do everything in his power to put “the thief” Duarte in jail and make him face trial for stealing from the treasury of the state of Veracruz.
The one difference is that Padrés did finish his six-year term and Duarte did not. But they are now fodder for the ever-going feud between the nation’s largest and oldest political parties, the PAN and the PRI, to stage another public show.
Their cases in their respective political parties are different.
Given the large amount of accusations against Guillermo Padrés, the PAN anti-corruption committee headed by Luis Felipe Bravo Mena heard his case on Sept. 29 but it was until Oct. 12 that they issued a “suspension of party rights” pending a trial to outright expel him if the PAN deems him “indefensible.” However, all the charges against him were after he left office on Sept. 12, 2013.
Javier Duarte has been in the spotlight for years now as his “pillaging” was being made public by those governed by him. In fact, prior to the election, former PRI president Manlio Fabio Beltrones demanded that he leave office and be reappointed by President Enrique Peña Nieto somewhere else where he would not draw as much attention. Duarte fought back and stayed there, which ended up costing the PRI the election last June and sent Beltrones reeling out of the PRI presidency as a “failure” for losing the state of Veracruz.
However, Duarte is seen as a “protégée” of President Peña Nieto who perhaps not as President, but as the top man at the PRI had the authority to remove him. Peña Nieto did not act in time and let the scandal ridden Duarte stay on until he was literally thrown out of the PRI as there is nothing they could do to salvage not only his reputation, but his freedom.
Now Duarte stands alone without any political protection against the ferocious onslaught that is to come from his mortal foe and Veracruz governor-elect Miguel Ángel Yunes, who just about on a daily basis repeats that he’s out to get Duarte.
Whatever happens to Guillermo Padrés and Javier Duarte in the near future will surely be news and both are accused of similar crimes and the Attorney General’s Officen (PGR), which is handling the investigation in both cases, is apparently throwing the book at them.
Let’s wait and see what happens next but this writer just can’t refrain from shouting: Viva Mexico!
