▲ The TEPJF will analyze the new criteria in future cases. In the image, aspect of the electoral process in the state of Mexico.Photo the day
Fabiola Martinez
Newspaper La Jornada
Saturday February 4, 2023, p. 6
The specialized chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (TEPJF) resolved that the new government propaganda criteria cannot be applied in the elections in Coahuila and the state of Mexico, which will be held next June.
Although the reform of two –out of six– laws included in the plan B entered into force on December 28, the Constitution indicates that at least 90 days must elapse prior to the start of the electoral process, and in this case the 2023 elections to elect the governor in the aforementioned entities began on January 1.
When analyzing and confirming the non-compliance with a precautionary measure ordered to the former Undersecretary of Federal Public Security Ricardo Mejía Berdeja, today a candidate for the governorship of Coahuila, the specialized chamber approved the project according to which the new norms will be analyzed in future cases, always accordance with the previous resolutions of the superior room.
Mejía Berdeja, current standard-bearer of the Labor Party, breached precautionary measures by not removing from Twitter, as ordered, denounced publications.
The specialized room also analyzed whether the infraction implied the loss of an honest way of life (requirement to confirm a candidacy).
The magistrates determined that Mejía and another public servant, Jonathan Ávalos, were not repeat offenders in electoral violations and neither was registered in the Catalog of Subjects Sanctioned by this specialized chamber.
The rapporteur magistrate, Luis Espíndola, stated: For the first time we are making a pronouncement on the definition of government propaganda that was introduced in the recent reform to the General Law of Social Communication; Although it is current law, it cannot be applied in the framework of the Coahuila election
for the reasons stated above.
On the other hand, the electoral judges determined that different public servants, among them the head of the capital’s government, Claudia Sheinbaum, and the Secretary of the Interior, Adán Augusto López Hernández, did not engage in anticipated acts of campaigning, personalized promotion, or violated the principle of impartiality when participating, last year, in public acts in Coahuila and Querétaro.
The resolutions of this room can be challenged before the superior room of the TEPJF.
