Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Mexican agency bars candidate accused of rape from running

Mexico's elections agency has withdrawn ballot registration for a candidate who was nominated despite accusations of rape against him

Via AP news wire
Friday 26 March 2021 14:29 GMT
Mexico Candidate Accused
Mexico Candidate Accused

Mexico’s elections agency has withdrawn ballot registration for a candidate who was nominated despite accusations of rape against him.

The National Electoral Institute said late Thursday that governorship candidate Félix Salgado had failed to report the money he spent during the primary process, and that his candidacy would no longer be officially recognized.

Mexico will hold state and federal mid-term elections on June 6.

Salgado won the ruling Morena party’s nomination for the governorship of the southern state of Guerrero this month, despite protests by women’s rights activists.

He has not personally addressed the accusations, though his lawyer has denied them.

Salgado vowed Friday to fight the decision in court, calling it “rude and arbitrary,” but did not say whether he had reported all spending as required by Mexico’s election laws.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party said Salgado had been chosen as candidate by party members in a poll despite nationwide protests over the fact two women accused him of rape.

López Obrador was stung by protests against his administration over his refusal to break with Salgado. The president said the issue should be left up to voters in Guerrero, and claims it is being brought up by his foes, “the conservatives.”

Salgado has not been charged; the statute of limitations ran out on one case and the other is still being investigated.

Salgado, who goes by the nickname Toro, or “Bull,” is a former federal legislator and mayor of Acapulco who has been been known for questionable behavior in the past. He was filmed scuffling with police in Mexico City in 2000.

Former Guerrero state prosecutor Xavier Olea told The Associated Press that the current governor of Guerrero, Hector Astudillo, ordered him in 2017 not to investigate one of the rape accusations against Salgado, though Astudillo has denied that.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in