TIJUANA Just like in the United States, there are laws in Mexico that mandate what public servants can and cant do during an election season.
To what extent they follow those laws is another matter, regardless of where they live.
The officials tasked with running Mexicos elections are holding meetings nationwide to explain the political rules of the road – and paid a visit to Tijuana this week.
They used as an example the case of the five mayors in Baja California who belong to the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and who wanted to be photographed with their partys presidential candidate, Enrique Peña Nieto, when he visited Feb. 7.
The law says elected officials cannot participate in any activity to support their political party during their work day unless they request the day off, in writing, before said activity.
Deputy prosecutor Enrique San Román, of the specialized federal unit that investigates electoral crimes, said the mayors should have sought that permission from their respective city councils, received that permission and shown that they in fact were not paid for the day in question all done publicly.
To date, none of the mayors who shook Peña Nietos hand had done any of that, however.
The prosecutor held a workshop Tuesday at the Camino Real hotel in Tijuana organized by the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), which runs elections in Mexico.
In addition to the presidential election on July 1, residents in 15 states will elect governors. In all, the IFE estimates that 80 million Mexicans will participate in the elections.
The workshop occurred a day after the head of the specialized electoral unit was fired in the aftermath of elections in Michocán state in November suspected of having been tainted by organized crime.
One of the candidates who narrowly lost is the sister of President Calderón, who was running for governor.
San Román, however, declined to comment on what happened Michocán. Instead, he focused on the work his specialized unit does, pointing out that since its creation in 1994, the unit had investigated 15,000 suspected electoral crimes. He said that in 2011 alone, 92 per cent of its investigations led to convictions.
Electoral crimes are not considered as serious ones; those found guilty usually have to pay a fine. Some, however, can face prison time up to nine years.
The most common crimes public servants commit include pressuring their subordinates to vote for a specific party or candidate or to work on their behalf during work time; and withholding some service, program or benefit from community members unless they support a specific party or candidate, he said.
Theres also using funds, goods or services the public servants have at their disposal such as vehicles, offices and equipment in exchange for political favors.
San Román was asked if Baja California Gov. José Guadalupe Osuna, a member of the ruling National Action Party (PAN), had committed an electoral crime when he used the states communication department to thank voters for supporting his partys presidential candidate, Josefina Vázquez Mota, in the primary election on Feb. 5.
The harried prosecutor would only say that the matter should be investigated.
omar.millan@sandiegored.com
