Governor Reiterates His Election Neutrality

(Chilpanzingo, NA 14 December) Today Governor Torreblanca will meet once more with the two principal candidates for his job in the elections to be held on January 30: the PRI candidate, Manuel Añorve Baños, and the PRD candidate, Ángel Aguirre Rivero. Each calls himself a coalition candidate, using the slogans “Better Times for Guerrero” and “Guerrero Brings Us Together,” respectively. In truth, the two main parties, the PRI and the PRD call all the shots. The conservative PAN, which managed to put Calderón in the presidency of the Republic, has relatively little resonance with the mostly poor, working class voters of Guerrero.

The two principal candidates made a joint request to meet with the Governor.

In a communiqué to the electorate, the Governor encouraged the voters to “vote for whomever you want, but vote!” He said that the important principle, especially in these troubled times, is to make sure that the democratic process is alive and prospering. He reiterated that he was supporting no candidate, and he reminded all state employees to refrain from favoring any political candidate while on duty. According to the Secretary of Rural Development, Gloria Sierra López, also present with the Governor, there is a temptation among some government workers to “condition the delivery of resources” on acts of support for a specific candidate. She called on her colleagues not to commit “this type of electoral crime.”

In the press interview following Governor Torreblanca’s statement, he also confirmed that the “Bicentennial Tunnel,” which will go from the Naval Base to the Diamante side of Acapulco, is now an active project of the State Highway Department. The cost will be around $3 billion pesos, to be paid out of a trust fund established for that purpose, to which private businesses will contribute in accordance with their long-term interests in having such a facility.