48 hours after the end of election day in Chiapas, post-electoral conflicts broke out this Tuesday in a dozen municipalities in the state, where groups dissatisfied with the electoral results burned municipal offices of the electoral body and staged clashes.
The most serious occurred in San Fernando, less than ten kilometers from the state capital, where supporters of various political parties protested outside the municipal offices of the Institute of Elections and Citizen Participation (IEPC), where they entered and burned all the electoral documents.
The dissidents are members of various political parties who are protesting against the triumph of Edilberto Gutiérrez Aguilar, candidate for the municipal presidency of the PVEM, and the candidate promoted by the current mayor Juan Antonio Castillejos Castellanos, who has already been mayor four times, for another three-year term it was his sister, in another his first cousin and in yet another his brother-in-law. That is to say, the current municipal president has been in political leadership for almost 30 years.
In the brawl, a municipal councilor jumped or was thrown out of the window, while the electoral center was burning. In a photograph she is seen falling from the window while a male person watches.
In Cintalapa, followers of Carlos Trinidad, PT candidate for municipal presidency, protested in front of the offices of the municipal electoral body to express their rejection of the victory of Ernesto Cruz Cruz, MORENA’s candidate for mayor. They denounced that in order to win he resorted to multiple irregularities before and during the election day last Sunday.
In the municipality of La Concordia, followers of Mayté Monserrat López Maza, candidate of the Chiapas Popular Party (PPCH), blocked La Independencia highway section, to claim the electoral victory that was allegedly given to the candidate of the Progressive Social Networks Party (RSP), Emannuel Córdova.
In Berriozabal, a few kilometers from Tuxtla, supporters and followers of Daniel Torres, protested against the results that favored the MORENA candidate, Jorge Acero, whom they accused of committing irregularities to establish himself as the winner.
In Parral, followers of the PT candidate, Karina Camacho Ramírez, took over the offices of the municipal electoral body to protest against the supposed victory of Elvira Castañeda Maza, MORENA candidate, who sought re-election as mayor.
Karina Camacho and the PVEM candidate, Margarito Gutiérrez Juárez, denounced that Elvira Castañeda committed various crimes such as vote buying, voter hauling, coercion of voting through those who receive support from federal government programs and other irregularities.
Similar protests were registered by antagonistic groups in Palenque, Ángel Albino Corzo, Saltade Agua, Santiago El Pinar, Yajalón and other municipalities in the state of Chiapas.
In this context of violence, the Institute of Elections and Citizen Participation (IEPC) of Chiapas condemned the acts of violence committed against District and Municipal Councils. It said that a group of people broke into the San Fernando Municipal Council, burned documents and started a fire; there are two people injured.
Before the plenary session of the General Council, the provisional president of the IEPC, María Magdalena Vila Domínguez, informed that the members of the Municipal Council of San Fernando had sent a letter to the General Council, informing that the facilities were surrounded by a group of people sympathizing with political parties, which is why they requested the transfer of the electoral documents to the IEPC central facilities located in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, to which some party representatives refused, considering that there was no justification for doing so and despite the fact that everything was ready for the transfer.
After a break, upon resuming the session at 6:30 p.m., the presiding counselor informed the General Council of what happened in the Municipal Council of San Fernando, stating that the people broke into the building, burned the electoral packages and the vehicle in which the transfer to Tuxtla Gutiérrez would take place. They also set fire to the Municipal Council, which left two people injured: one with fractures and another with second-degree burns. Both are safe and the IEPC maintains contact with them.
Given the events, the electoral body is presenting the corresponding complaints. The counselors and the electoral counselor strongly condemn the acts of violence committed against the District and Municipal Councils and their members.
It should be noted that, throughout the entire electoral process, during the day of last Sunday, June 2nd and particularly today, during the aforementioned session, the electoral advisors who make up the General Council of the IEPC called on the political forces to maintain order and civility, to temper the spirit of their candidates, their militants and sympathizers, in order to carry out the counting sessions calmly and with full respect for the integrity of the people.
Due to various situations that prevail in some municipalities of Chiapas, which puts district and municipal counting sessions at risk, so far nine Municipal Councils are at the IEPC central offices, to carry out the counting sessions, that is the case of: Emiliano Zapata, Tuzantán, Ángel Albino Corzo, Montecristo de Guerrero, La Concordia, Cintalapa, Simojovel, Ocosingo and Unión Juárez.
Original article by Isaín Mandujani, Chiapas Paralelo, June 5th, 2024
Translated by Schools for Chiapas