From Tapachula, Chiapas
Ahead of the June 2 national elections, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed confidence that a free election is guaranteed, where the people will decide and will confirm that there is now an authentic democracy in Mexico, unlike in the past when it was only a simulation. “They used to pretend that there were elections, but they only utilized the population to legitimize their imposition,” he recalled. He added that social programs will not be used for electoral purposes, as they are rights that have been enshrined in the Constitution.
President López Obrador reiterated that his government respects the right of all Mexicans to demonstrate. He trusted that there will be no confrontations between members of the radical dissident National Teachers’ Coordinating Committee (CNTE) who are in the capital’s Zócalo square, and the participants in the opposition’s so-called Pink Tide march, which will take place Sunday, May 19.
The head of the Executive Branch charged that Televisa is waging a slander campaign against Rocío Nahle, Morena candidate in Veracruz. He demanded that if they have proof of corruption, they should present it before the competent authorities.
Chiapas Governor Rutilio Escandón reported that, according to the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policies (Coneval), poverty in the state decreased 10.63%, with respect to 2018.
President López Obrador will meet today with his Guatemalan counterpart, Bernardo Arévalo, to discuss binational cooperation, security, culture, regional issues. “We are going to discuss projects that we are going to initiate and I am sure that there will be continuity” during the next administration, the President said. He expressed confidence that the Sembrando Vida agricultural support program will continue to operate in Guatemala.
