The National Electoral Institute (INE) is preparing to file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office (FGR) over alleged corruption during the tenure of former president counselor Guadalupe Taddei and her team. Interim president counselor Blanca Yassahara Cruz García confirmed that the institute's legal team is drafting the legal action, which could be submitted as early as today or by next Wednesday at the latest.
- Imminent complaint: The INE will give notice to the FGR regarding allegations of corruption during Guadalupe Taddei's administration.
- Media-based evidence: The legal team will rely on journalistic investigations by outlets such as Latinus, Reforma, and El Universal.
- No names: The complaint will be general and cover any official or former official implicated, without a preliminary list.
A complaint grounded in press investigations
Cruz García said all 10 counselors agreed that their legal teams should work to file the complaint and notify the federal Public Ministry. The aim, she explained, is to establish responsibilities for whoever is accountable.
“Justamente las 10 consejerías estamos en el acuerdo de que nuestros equipos jurídicos trabajen para poder presentar la denuncia correspondiente, dar vista a la Fiscalía General de la República para deslindar responsabilidades de a quién corresponda”, dijo la presidenta del INE.
The legal resource will reference reporting by media outlets including Latinus, Reforma, and El Universal, which precipitated Taddei's downfall. According to the official, the goal is not to investigate a single person but all officials flagged for possible irregularities.
“¿Por qué? Porque puede ser que, pues, no nada más se investigue a una persona, ¿no? Sino a varios funcionarios que estén señalados de posibles irregularidades. Entonces, en los términos en lo que lo vamos a manejar es precisamente en que si se derivan investigaciones y hay responsabilidades de cualquier funcionario o funcionaria que haya laborado o labore en el Instituto, pues es quien, digamos, es la autoridad competente quien podrá determinar”, agregó.
Scope of the complaint and officials under scrutiny
Asked whether the complaint would seek an investigation into Guadalupe Taddei, Blanca Cruz answered yes and said authorities should investigate all officials named, from the former counselor to anyone who has held the executive secretariat, a directorate, or even a deputy director level.
“Es correcto. Desde la exconsejera, quien ha ocupado el puesto de la secretaria ejecutiva, quien ha estado en algunas direcciones, quien puede ser un nivel de subdirector. Cualquier persona en que, en la atribución de la competencia que tiene la Fiscalía derive que es, es sancionable porque hizo alguna conducta, cometió alguna conducta que esté tipificada”, comentó la consejera presidenta.
The interim INE president specified that the complaint will not include names of officials or former officials because it will be filed in general terms to cover any collaborator possibly linked to any indication or allegation.
“No podemos presentar nombres, más bien es en la generalidad, porque debe abarcar a cualquier colaborador que pueda estar con algún indicio o con algún señalamiento, porque, pues hemos visto, por ustedes, medios de comunicación, incluso algunos trascendidos, pues que es más de una persona la que puede estar señalada”, expuso.
Ongoing investigations and deadlines
Blanca Cruz recalled that investigations are already open at the Superior Audit Office (ASF) and the INE's own Internal Control Organ, which will have to determine corresponding responsibilities.
“También hay investigaciones abiertas por la Auditoría Superior de la Federación, por el propio órgano interno de control y tendrán que investigar. ¿Qué podemos hacer nosotros? Y algunos de mis colegas, cuando han platicado con ustedes, hablaban de qué tipo de responsabilidad, incluso penal, se pudiera configurar. Pero no podemos tipificarla porque no somos la autoridad competente”, señaló.
The official stressed that the INE cannot specify a number of individuals or a preliminary list because the complaint must remain open to any review by the FGR. The information that the FGR, headed by Ernestina Godoy, will receive could be sent today or no later than next Wednesday, it was specified.
The document will not carry names but will refer to information that has circulated in the media and that, in the view of the 10 counselors, warrants review. Additionally, Denise Dresser formalized a request for a political trial against Guadalupe Taddei. With this, Taddei is surrounded on multiple fronts: the FGR complaint, the ASF and Internal Control Organ inquiries, and the journalistic investigations that triggered the crisis at the electoral body.