Jorge Ricardo and Érika Hernández/ Reform Agency
Wednesday, April 12, 2023 | 17:07
San Felipe del Progreso, Mexico.- Although she asked to postpone the first of the two debates, Delfina Gómez, Morena’s candidate for the Government of the State of Mexico, said she was willing to debate on April 28 or after that date and denied that she is afraid.
“No, no no, I’m already beyond good and evil,” he said with a laugh when he said goodbye to hundreds of people who came to his rally in San Felipe del Progreso, State of Mexico.
Gómez, who is seeking the governorship for the second time, has proposed that the debate be held on April 28 and not on April 20, as was the first proposal with the PRI member Alejandra del Moral, who proposed up to five meetings.
Delfina Gómez also said that she already has campaign commitments.
“We said that after the 28th it would be fine, or the 28th, especially since it is already scheduled,” he shared in an interview.
In the center of this municipality, located 15 minutes from Atlacomulco -PRI epicenter that Morena has already governed and lost-, Gómez gathered more than a thousand people, from children to the elderly and most were distributed caps, shirts, flags, He asked them not to trust each other and go out and vote on June 4.
The Morena delegate in the State of Mexico, Higinio Martínez, also denied any fear of the candidate to debate.
“We are going to give them their debate and in the end we are going to win the debate. Now they are desperate, they want them to go with them, as if they did not know who they are, but we are going to give them their debate and we ask all the attendees to watch the debate the day it is held,” he said.
“The PRI does not decide the date, nor does the electoral body decide, it is a consensus, so we are going to go to the debate. When? We say 28, there is a pre-established agenda that is very difficult in such a short campaign to adjust many things. There is no fear, Delfina already participated two years ago, six years ago, here she is in the public squares, we are going to debate. We have no problem talking about the corruption of the PRI members, it is the easiest thing, “he added in interview.
Due to agenda issues, it was requested to postpone the debate: Duarte
Delfina Gómez is not afraid to debate, there are simply scheduling problems, argued her campaign coordinator, Horacio Duarte, about the warning that the morenista could not attend the first debate between candidates for the governorship of the State of Mexico.
However, the morenista did not remember what activities the candidate has on April 20 to propose to the Electoral Institute of the State of Mexico to defer the meeting to April 28.
“A request was simply made, open, transparent, if I am surprised by the speed of the institute to filter documents (from the request). What we ask is that if the campaign lasts 59 days and was interrupted for Easter, as a result of that our schedule of events and we ask that it be considered to postpone a few days.
“That simple and simple, there is no bigger trick, we have so many days and that’s it. Whoever wants to find him more is fine, it’s part of the speculation. There is no fear or any other issue,” he assured.
He pointed out that one should not believe that the debates are “the panacea”, so there is no risk that if he does not attend, he will drop points in the polls.
He indicated that once the IEEM reports whether or not it accepts his proposal, the teacher will define whether to attend.
“She has always said that she will attend the debates,” added Duarte, who insisted that it is not a strategy as it happened with other candidates in 2022.
They see defamation as a strategy
The former federal official accused the PRI of focusing its strategy on defamation, not only against the candidate, but also against him and other Morena leaders in the state as a way of hitting Gómez’s campaign.
He assured that the PAN publicist, Antonio Sola, to whom the phrase “Andrés Manuel is a danger to Mexico” is attributed, works for Del Moral, for which reason similar accusations will be seen.
“We are not going to fall into the crazy despair of the Opposition candidate who thinks that slandering and generating gender-based political violence is going to come back.
“I do not have any sentence or resolution that says that he has committed an administrative irregularity, everything else is grid. They think that by hitting other leaders they hit or affect the teacher,” he said.
He considered that the advantage of between 15 and 20 points will be difficult to reverse.
“80 percent of Mexicans want a change and the dilemma is not by party blocks, but rather that people see that the competition is for Morena – which is the change – or the PRI, which is the continuation of corruption.
“In the polls that are done, only Izcalli (where Del Moral governed) and Texcoco, the teacher won in the polls. If they don’t even want you at home, why are you crying elsewhere,” he added.
We’ll see
The campaign coordinator assured that all national leaders, including presidential candidates, have an open invitation to attend Delfina Gómez’s campaign events.
However, he pointed out, so far none of the so-called “corcholatas” have informed if they will join the weekend tours.
Last year, Marcelo Ebrard, Claudia Sheinbaum and Adán Augusto López maintained permanent activism in the six entities where there were elections. However, in most of these entities, the Electoral Tribunal determined that the participation of these officials did influence and put the electoral processes at risk.
“The so-called corcholatas or corcholatos know that the State of Mexico is a priority for the movement, so if they have time and want to support they will be welcome. I don’t manage their agenda, and if they come they will be well received,” Duarte replied.
