The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) reported that it is analyzing a new proposal for the Technical Evaluation Committee of aspiring directors of the National Electoral Institute (INE), after the appointment of María del Socorro Puga Luévano was criticized due to who lacks knowledge in electoral matters, is a member of Morena and claims to be certified in laughter yoga.
“To avoid suspicions and pay for the reliability and transparency of the new integration of the INE, we are already analyzing a new proposal to submit to the Political Coordination Board of the Chamber of Deputies,” explained the CNDH, in charge of Rosario Piedra, in a statement.
And although he defended that the designation of his proposals for members of the Committee was carried out in accordance with internal regulations and legal requirements, he argued that it will not be the CNDH that will make this process difficult.
While maintaining that its only interest “is to help ensure the conditions that guarantee the full right to democracy in the sense of strengthening the INE as it should be, a truly autonomous body of any power, constituted or factual, legal or supralegal, that ensures the transparency of the electoral process and the effective counting of votes, with full certainty for the citizenry, completely removed from government control and partisan interests.”
Affinity to the ruling party
The appointment of Puga Luévano was questioned by opposition legislators given his affinity with Morena, having competed for a local position, in 2015, and he is registered in the list of militants of the same party in San Nicolás de los Garza, in Nuevo León.
While his resume highlights his experience as an assistant to the mayor’s services at the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), as head of the Operational Control Office, nothing related to electoral matters.
While among his certifications is also the one obtained in 2018, in laughter yoga.
It is appropriate to mention that the Technical Evaluation Committee, which will analyze the profiles of those who aspire to be directors of the National Electoral Institute, is made up of seven members: three appointed by the Political Coordination Board of the Chamber of Deputies, two by the CNDH and two more by the National Institute of Transparency.
