Two priests murdered/Electoral Institutions
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Two priests murdered/Electoral Institutions

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Karin Dilge By Karin Dilge | Journalist and Industry Analyst - Wed, 06/22/2022 - 12:18

Murder of two priests. President López Obrador lamented the murder of Javier Campos Morales and Joaquín Mora Salazar in Cerocahui, Chihuahua and explained that local authorities are investigating the case. Furthermore, he reported that the alleged suspect already has an arrest warrant for killing an American tourist in 2018.

The suspect of killing the priests is apparently part of a criminal gang. He assured that elements of the Army have already been deployed and that the Attorney General of Chihuahua is in charge of the case.

On Monday, a man running from a hitman sought refuge at the church where the two Jesuit priests were working. When the hitman reached the precincts, he began firing and killed the two priests and the man. The hitman took the bodies of the priests and have not been found.

Jesuit priests condemned the state of violence the Sierra Tarahumara is experiencing, where everyday men and women get murdered, mainly by criminal organizations.

Electoral Institutions. President López Obrador complained about billion-peso electoral inconsistencies and reaffirmed the necessity of having one single body integrated by honest people to carry out elections in the country. He said that Local Public Electoral Organizations (OPLE) should disappear and an agreement to have one single organization must be reached.

In Mexico, there are 32 OPLE and the electoral reform of López Obrador proposes its elimination and the creation of the National Institute for Elections and Consultations (INEC).  This would make INEC the sole election authority that would be in charge of organizing all electoral processes in the country, federal and local. The organization would also be in charge of popular consultations and the mandate revocation elections.

Vulcan Materials. President López Obrador informed that the federal government will file a lawsuit before the end of June against the Vulcan Materials company. Moreover, he said that it is already being worked on the complaint and it will be presented to international organizations. Nonetheless, the president did not rule out the possibility of reaching an agreement with the company despite the fact that the Mexican government will appeal to international instances for the extraction of materials in its national territory.

Vulcan Materials has mined limestone in Quintana Roo since 1986. However, in 2018, the company-initiated arbitration against Mexico under the USMCA due to the revocation of its port concessions. The company explained that this revocation closed its operations and generated significant monetary losses, so it requested compensation of US$500 million. According to the company, the Mexican government's actions were unilateral and violated existing agreements. For its part, the Mexican government has proposed several alternatives for the company to make use of the concession without resorting to mining since this would harm the ecosystem.

On May 23, López Obrador met with Thomas Hill, Vulcan Materials CEO, after tensions between the company and the Mexican government escalated following the government´s accusation that the company extracts and exports limestone to the US without the required permits. However, no agreement was reached. In a report, Vulcan explained that if the company's issues with the government are not resolved, Vulcan is expected to lose between US$80 and US$100 million in 2022.

 

Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish

Photo by:   Presidencia de la República

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