TEPJF orders to reopen the investigation against Adrián de la Garza for campaign cards in Nuevo León

By unanimous vote of the magistrates, the plenary session of the Electoral Court of the Federal Judicial Branch (TEPJF) ordered the Nuevo León State Electoral Commission to reopen the investigation against the former PRI-PRD candidate, Adrián de la Garza Santos, for the distribution of cards during the political campaign for the Governor.

By unanimous vote, with the concurring vote of Judge José Luis Vargas Valdez and the reasoned vote of Judge Felipe de la Mata Pizaña, the Superior Room of the TEPJF revoked the ruling of the Electoral Tribunal of Nuevo León and ordered to reopen the investigation so that the corresponding authorities collect the necessary elements and issue a new resolution that determines whether or not the offense will be confirmed for having delivered goods and / or services to citizens during the election campaign.

During the previous electoral campaign, the party Brunette denounced Adrián de la Garza Santos and to the parties of the PRI-PRD coalition that nominated him, since he considered that the deliveries of the cards “For you strong woman” and “For you in company” that promised a bimonthly deposit, incurred violations in terms of electoral propaganda and use of public funding.

The project prepared by the magistrate Reyes Rodríguez Mondragon, highlighted that the prohibition of delivering goods or services to the electorate during electoral campaigns seeks to guarantee that the vote of the citizenry is free -especially that of those people in disadvantaged or vulnerable conditions-, as well as to prevent the commission of bad electoral practices , such as the formation of clientelistic commitments.

In this sense, the approved draft judgment of the TEPJF established that the competent authorities to review complaints about the distribution of cards or other materials that offer and / or deliver benefits in case of winning a certain candidacy, have the duty and obligation to thoroughly investigate the facts to demonstrate whether Adrián’s electoral propaganda de la Garza was valid or was part of a strategy to coerce the vote.

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