The Alianza Federalista carries out a constitutional and legal analysis and a political strategy to declare a separation from the Federal Pact.
MEXICO CITY (Times Media Mexico) – While President López Obrador was making threats against the private companies in the energy sector with which his government is waging a legal battle, 10 of the country’s governors yesterday issued an ultimatum to his government. “Defense of federalism, defense of trusts and the defense of Budget for their states.” They warned that if the President continues to ignore their request for dialogue to review the budgetary needs of local governments and refuses to review the proposed Budget for 2021, the ten entities they represent could break away from the Federal Pact and leave the Republic.
In a coordinated and simultaneous manner, the ten leaders who make up the Alianza Federalista pronounced a similar speech from their state capitals. They demanded that López Obrador stop snubbing and attacking their states, minimizing and disregarding their requests for a larger budget for their needs.
In all the public acts of each entity, the governors were accompanied by representatives of the three public powers and the most representative sectors of each place to send the message that they are not alone. The ten states are Jalisco, Nuevo León, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Michoacán, Durango, Colima, and Aguascalientes, whose governments demand respect and dialogue from the Federation.
“We are here to send a strong message that we are not willing to tolerate any more abuses by the Federation. We are here proud to be Mexican and with the conviction that we will always be. But no free and sovereign State that has a minimum of dignity can continue being part of a Federation when the Government of the Republic ignores us, attacks us, insults us, and takes away what belongs to us,” said the Governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro.
In Chihuahua, Javier Corral seconded him with the warning that if there is no response to his request for dialogue with the President, the states are ready to go into a political and legal battle with the Federation to defend their resources. “We will not allow either abuse or outrage. Suppose the answer continues to be indifference and deaf ears. In that case, we are ready to give the political and legal battle,” said the PAN leader from the vicinity of the Government Palace and accompanied by representatives of state powers and Chihuahua society.
From Nuevo Leon, Jaime Rodriguez Calderon threatened that the state would break with the Federation if the call for a more equitable distribution according to what each state contributes is not heard, and said that if this policy is followed, the government will have to generate different conditions from the local level. “If it does not listen to us, it will generate an unnecessary confrontation. If it does not listen to us, then the character of each region will be tested,” he said.
The threat of a rupture in the Republic was also heard from Guanajuato, where Governor Diego Sinhué also demanded dialogue with the President, or else, he warned, the ten united entities could decide to break the Federal Pact. “Today, we want to tell you that we extend our hand and that if there is no dialogue, we are ready to give the legal and political fight. By not listening to Guanajuato and the states that make up the Federalist Alliance, we could be taking Mexico to the beginning of the breaking of the Federal Pact, and that would be terrible for the whole country,” said the PAN leader.
In the same sense and with the same tone of ultimatum for a dialogue with the Federation in which the drastic reductions of the Budget to the states, the disappearance of the trusts, and the destiny of those resources can be reviewed, Governors Silvano Aureoles from Michoacán, Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca from Tamaulipas, José Rosas Aispuro from Durango, José Ignacio Peralta from Colima and Martín Orozco from Aguascalientes pronounced themselves.
Each of them demanded respect for their entities and questioned the fact that AMLO divides and confronts Mexicans from the National Palace. At the same time, he disregards and minimizes the governors’ claims to whom he pretends to ignore the political representation of their states.
The message of the ten-state leaders of the Alianza Federalista comes after both the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Interior had refused to meet with them to dialogue and discuss their demands regarding the reduction of participation for their states. In contrast, these two agencies’ heads do meet and dialogue with the National Conference of Governors, which they continue to recognize as national representatives when it was already unknown by these ten entities.
López Obrador has questioned the Allied leaders’ demands and petitions, mocking that “the governors only represent themselves and not their states.” Simultaneously, it seems to be an instruction from the National Palace not to consider the group of Allied governors as interlocutors.
Yesterday, after the ten states’ coordinated action with their simultaneous events and the attendance of their governments’ representative sectors, it was revealed that the Alianza Federalista is already carrying out a constitutional and juridical analysis. A political strategy to declare, if there is no answer to their requests, and the President accepts dialogue to review and modify the Federal Budget 2021, a separation of the Federal Pact. This is based on the constitutional principle that “the states are sovereign and form part of a federal republic by their consent” and can also decide to leave or break the federal agreements and pacts if they feel ignored, neglected, or mistreated the central government.
Governors of Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Michoacán consulted to find out if their respective states remain in the federal pact.
Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Guanajuato, Coahuila, and Michoacán held a consultation to find out if their respective states remain in the federal pact.
The above in response to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who described as electoral the threat of the opposition governors – grouped in the Federalist Alliance -, who this Monday said that they would break with the federal pact if the central government does not attend to the budget cut, the lack of respect and communication with the entities.
Because of this, the governors “took the floor” to the Executive and used their respective Twitter accounts to consult the citizens.
Governor Martin Orozco asked the people of Aguascalientes: “Do you agree that the federal government should return the people the resources for health, culture, sports, science, security, human rights, among others? Jaime Rodríguez “El Bronco” did the same:
¿Cómo ven? ¿Hacemos una consulta pública para decidir si seguimos siendo los que más le damos a la Federación, a pesar de que nos devuelven solo 28 centavos por cada peso que mandamos, o que Nuevo León se quede con lo que contribuye?#SomosNuevoLeón
— JAIME RDZ EL BRONCO (@JaimeRdzNL) October 27, 2020
In a press conference at the National Palace, AMLO said that the ten governors are within their rights, but there is no possibility of breaking away from the federal pact. “If they have a democratic vocation, they would have to ask the citizens of the states which government, I would recommend them to apply the rule by obeying,” challenged Lopez Obrador.
The governors took the President at his word. They pointed out that the population will be consulted to know if they agree to break the federal pact since there is no reciprocity from the central government on the budget issue.
