A Mexican politician whose candidacy was canceled by the regulators threatened on Sunday that he will block the elections in his state, unless he is allowed to run, reports Associated Press.
Félix Salgado is running for governor of the Mexican state of Guerrero. He was accused of rape by two women. His party, the Morena party, which is the same as Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, allowed him to continue his race.
However, the election regulators at the end of March ordered that Salgado be removed from the ballot due to the failure to report campaign spending AP reports. Mexico’s electoral court has ordered the Federal Electoral Institute (EIF) to reconsider its decision last week.
Salgado, the former mayor of Acapulco, did not personally address the rape allegations against him, the AP reports, although his lawyer denied them. He was not charged.
López Obrador defended Salgado, calling his candidacy an “attack on democracy.”
“If we take part in the vote, there will be elections,” Salgado told Guerrero supporters after leading a caravan of protesters to the FEI office in Mexico City on Sunday.
“If he does not vote, there will be no election,” Salgado said.
AP notes that Salgado does not make an empty threat. Guerrero is a state confused with violence and drug gangs and many elections have been previously disrupted. The former governors were forced to resign before the end of their terms. Salgado was previously filmed in a confrontation with police in 2000.
Mexico’s state and federal elections will be held on June 6.