“Long live Sinaloa!”: group of hooded people march in Chicomuselo prior to the extraordinary elections

One day before the extraordinary elections in Chicomuselo, Chiapas, a group of hooded individuals paraded through the municipality aboard dozens of vehicles, as seen in a video that was spread on social networks.

To the unison cry of “We want peace! Up Chicomuselo! We are going to liberate Chicomuselo! and Long live Sinaloa!”, hundreds of civilians circulated on motorcycles and pickup trucks with sideboards, while raising their hands in a sign of triumph prior to the extraordinary electoral process.

In the video that was released, it is not seen that the hooded individuals carried firearms or security equipment. The majority were men and, due to the slogans referred to, it is presumed that some of them were alleged members of the Sinaloa Cartel, although these reports have not been confirmed.

Unofficially, it was reported that residents of the ejidos of Chicomuselo, Siltepec and Hondura de la Sierra were forced to participate in the “parade” to proclaim victory in the municipality. Journalist Mariana Morales reported that the march was called by the Sinaloa Cartel on Saturday, August 24.

According to reports from El Heraldo de Chiapas, it is estimated that around 50 vehicles with hooded subjects entered the municipality of Chicomuselo on Saturday afternoon. So far, the authorities have not confirmed whether the parade was called by a drug trafficking organization.

Extraordinary elections in Chicomuselo demanded to be cancelled
Due to the situation of violence and insecurity in Chicomuselo, the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas requested not to carry out the extraordinary electoral process scheduled for this Sunday, August 25.

Bishops Rodrigo Aguilar Martínez and Luis Manuel López indicated that the territorial dispute between criminal groups has generated forced displacement in the municipality. Because of this, they warned that the extraordinary elections would not be representative.

“There are no conditions to generate the process of election and citizen participation, due to the high level of violence and insecurity that the population experiences, a situation that conditions them to vote according to the interests of the cartels that dispute the territory and have caused the forced displacement of the inhabitants,” said the bishops.

Under this tenor, they demanded the disarmament and arrest of the criminal groups responsible for the disappearance of people and the forced displacement that has been generated on the southern border.

In addition to Chicomuselo, extraordinary elections were also scheduled for this Sunday in Pantelhó and Capitán Luis Ángel Vidal, municipalities that have also been affected by the presence of criminal groups.

In Pantelhó, the Institute for Citizen Election and Participation (IEPC) announced that the elections will not be held due to the lack of conditions for due process. In this municipality, the installation of 28 polling stations was planned, with a nominal list of 15,256 voters and nine positions to be elected.

In Chicomuselo, the extraordinary elections will be maintained in a partial manner, since 18 polling stations were lowered from a total of 45, meaning that 27 will be installed. Due to the reduction in polling stations, this municipality has a nominal list of 15,016 people.

In Capitán Luis Ángel Vidal, the electoral process will be carried out normally. In this municipality, the installation of six polling stations is planned with a nominal list of 3,030 voters and eight positions to be elected.

Source: infobae