The cancellation of a contract with a Chinese company resulted in compensation of that amount….
MERIDA — The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) ruled against the council of Mérida, which will have to pay almost 500 million pesos ($28 million USD) for debts and interest accrued after the cancellation of a contract for the purchase and installation of 82 thousand streetlamps of Chinese origin.
According to information from La Jornada, after four years of legal discussion, the SCJN ratified by four votes against one, the resolution of the sixth collegiate court in civil matters, which ordered Merida to pay to Santander Bank rents and interest due to anticipated cancellation of the leasing contract for lamps signed with the company AB & C Leasing in 2011, during the management of the PRI mayor and current senator Angélica Araujo Lara.
(Photo: SIPSE; Milenio Novedades)
On October 31, 2013, the third district judge in civil matters based in Mexico City, Felipe Consuelo Soto, handed down a judgment in favor of Banco Santander, ratifying the validity of a transfer of rights to collect the income originated, a resolution that was appealed by the city of Mérida.
On June 6, 2015, the judge of the third unitary court in civil and administrative matters of the first circuit, Manuel Suárez Fragoso, upheld the judgment in the second instance. The city council of Mérida then requested an injunction that was resolved against it on March 3, 2016. The commune appealed the resolution and lost again.
For prolonging the process, the city of Mérida will have to pay the accumulated interest and legal expenses.
Renán Barrera Concha, former mayor of Mérida, lamented that the SCJN ruled against the municipality for this dispute, which began during his administration in 2013.
“It’s sad, it hurts us all. The process was very contested. We thought that the sense was going to be favorable to the city council; However, there were influences beyond the legal terms, he said.
The current municipal president, Mauricio Vila Dosal, said: “We certainly do not agree with this resolution, but we will abide by it. The honest, transparent and professional management of public finances and budgetary control will allow us to face this contingency.”
Source: sipse.com/milenio
