A Mexican politician whose candidate has been canceled by the regulatory authorities on Sunday threatened to block the election in his state unless he is allowed to run, reports Associated Press.
Félix Salgado is running for governor of the Mexican state of Guerrero. He was accused of rape by two women. His party, the Morena Party, which is the same as Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, allowed him to continue his race.
At the end of March, election regulators ordered that Salgado be removed from the polls for failing to report on the spending of the AP reports. The Mexican Electoral Court has ordered the Federal Electoral Institute (FEI) to reconsider its decision last week.
Salgado, the former mayor of the beach resort of Acapulco, did not personally address the charges of rape against him, the AP reported, although his lawyer denied it. He was not charged.
López Obrador defends Salgado and calls objections to his candidacy an attack on democracy. ‘
“If we are on the ballot, there will be elections,” Salgado told supporters in Guerrero after leading a caravan of protesters to the FEI’s office in Mexico City on Sunday.
“If there is no vote, there will be no election,” Salgado said.
The AP notes that Salgado does not pose an empty threat. Guerrero has been plagued by violence and drug gangs and many elections have been disrupted in the past. Previous governors were forced out of office before completing their term of office. Salgado was filmed earlier in 2000 in a confrontation with police.
Mexico’s state and federal by – elections will take place on June 6.