PAN Candidates Campaigning in the US / Rural Reform Initiative

AMLO Criticizes PAN Candidates for Campaigning in the United States. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador criticized PAN candidates for traveling to the United States as part of their campaigns, both for the presidency and the mayoralty of Mexico City.

The candidate of the Fuerza y Corazón por México coalition, Xóchitl Gálvez, traveled this week to the United States for a work tour. During her trip, she met with the Secretary General of the OEA, Luis Almagro, in Washington, where she requested the presence of observers before, during, and after the electoral process on June 2. Similarly, Mexico City mayoralty candidate, Santiago Taboada, attended the headquarters of the OEA and the IACHR in Washington to denounce an alleged political persecution by MORENA against him.

Taboada pointed out that the current Mayor, Martí Batres, "became the campaign manager for the MORENA candidate in Mexico City several months ago." He said that the persecution not only occurred during the internal process, "but also now using all social programs and the entire apparatus of the Attorney General's Office against the opposition."

Minister Ariadna Montiel Presents Rural Development Reform Initiative. Minister of Welfare, Ariadna Montiel, presented the government’s initiative for a constitutional reform on integral rural development to the Chamber of Deputies. The aim is to elevate the Sembrando Vida program to a constitutional right, to contribute to rural development and ensure a secure, fair, and permanent wage for farmers.

She explained that Sembrando Vida is currently the world's largest reforestation program, implemented in 24 states. Approximately 441,000 farmers receive a wage of MX$6,250 (US$365) monthly, and this year, an investment of MX$38.92 billion (US$2.2 billion) will be made in this program.

Murderer of Angelita Meraz Identified. President López Obrador reported that the murderer of activist searcher Angelita Meraz León in Baja California has been identified. He stated that the initial investigations do not link this crime to her activism and the search for her brother. 

The President emphasized that this case concerned the federal government, and thus an immediate joint investigation was launched with state authorities. He also recalled that Meraz had previously received threats and was under the protection of the Baja California government.

Yesterday, it was revealed that the president of the Unión y Fuerza por Nuestros Desaparecidos collective, Angélica Meraz León, was murdered in her beauty salon located in the Loma Alta neighborhood in Tecate, Baja California. Angélica Meraz León dedicated her efforts to the search for her brother José Juan Vázquez, who has been missing since 2018.