Sheinbaum defends statements against Somos lawsuit over INE investigation, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she will maintain her statements about the Somos party and companies contracted by electoral authorities, after the organization announced it will file a lawsuit for moral damage and defamation against her and Anticorruption Secretary Raquel Buenrostro.
“We only stated the facts. I have no problem, I defend my words, I stand by them,” Sheinbaum responded during her morning press conference when asked about the legal action the party is preparing.
Sheinbaum said she has evidence supporting her statements. She clarified that the material is not documents she personally holds, but information that, in her words, has already been presented publicly.
She also said her comments are not based solely on versions circulated by media outlets.
Somos announced the lawsuit one day after Sheinbaum and Buenrostro spoke about alleged irregularities in contracts at the National Electoral Institute (INE). The party accused the government of attempting to involve it in a scheme without basis, which it said seeks to divert attention from the crisis at the electoral body.
In its statement, the organization attributed responsibility for the deterioration of the INE to Guadalupe Taddei and said the federal administration has not addressed the case seriously.
Sheinbaum’s response followed her questioning of former councilor Lorenzo Córdova, who acknowledged knowing about a small group of companies supplying electoral bodies. According to Sheinbaum, he did not act to correct that concentration during his tenure.
The President also noted that the INE appointed Guadalupe Taddei as president of the electoral body in Sonora, and linked that decision to what she said Córdova knew about the companies winning contracts from state electoral authorities.
In defending her remarks, Sheinbaum said that when there is evidence of any person’s involvement in corruption or criminal activity, authorities must act. She added that no one should be protected because of political affiliation or acted upon solely on the basis of public versions.
