Sheinbaum says Guadalupe Taddei betrayed the Mexican people, responds to AMLO support, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico City): Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo reiterated her accusations against Guadalupe Taddei Zavala, former president of the National Electoral Institute (INE), whom she accused of betraying the Mexican people.
During her Monday morning press conference, Sheinbaum was questioned by a journalist who played an audio recording of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador recognizing Taddei’s career and describing her as an honest and upright woman.
Responding to the question, Sheinbaum stood by her position, saying: “What I said and I maintain is that Guadalupe Taddei betrayed the people.” She explained that her perception of the former official changed over time and said she may initially have considered her an honest person.
The president also said Taddei came from a group that, in her view, had formed during the administration of Lorenzo Córdova at the electoral body.
Addressing questions about the support Taddei received from Morena and from López Obrador when she became INE president in 2023, Sheinbaum defended the selection process. She recalled that her appointment was resolved through a random draw (insaculación) in the Chamber of Deputies after no qualified majority was reached.
The president said several political parties backed the shortlist of candidates and rejected the idea that the appointment could be attributed exclusively to Morena.
Regarding allegations of possible irregularities in the electoral body’s contracting, Sheinbaum said it was necessary to review tendering procedures to prevent contracts from being concentrated among monopolies or duopolies that could raise the cost of electoral processes.
She also maintained that anyone who engages in corruption must answer to the authorities regardless of political affiliation, and that the competent bodies must determine whether there are grounds to proceed legally.
Finally, she insisted that the INE must make its contracting processes transparent and avoid conflicts of interest in order to strengthen the institution ahead of upcoming electoral processes.
