Seven subjects were prosecuted for burning electoral material in the Puebla elections

Those now processed could receive three years in prison (Photo: Ángel Hernández / Cuartoscuro)

In June 2021, in Puebla there were multiple riots and the burning of electoral material in the framework of the counting of municipal elections. Five months after these events, seven people were linked to the process, because they allegedly destroyed the Chiconcuautla ballots.

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On June 6 of last year, this group of individuals violently broke into the center of the referred municipality, according to the State Prosecutor’s Office. Immediately afterwards, they entered the City Hall building and began to collect the ballots for the 2020-2021 electoral process.

With the aim of destroying them, the defendants sprayed gasoline on them and set them on fire. In this way, they got rid of the electoral material from Chiconcuautla. After investigative work, the authorities identified those responsible for the destruction. They were Omar “N”, Marcelo “N”, Tomás “N”, Edgar “N”, Alejandro “N”, Manuel “N” and Concepción “N”.

Deputy of Morena in Puebla denounced harassment and intimidation against her

On at least two occasions, legislator Odette Almazán has been the victim of attacks on her properties; So far the identity of the people responsible is unknown.

“During the hearing, the Agent of the Public Ministry presented evidence and managed to have the seven defendants linked to the process” for the crime of destruction of electoral material, whose penalty is three years in prison. However, it could be doubled if the authorities prove that the events occurred with violence.

Artemio Hernández was elected as municipal president of Chiconcuautla (Photo: Facebook/ArtemioHernandezG)

Due to these facts, at least five candidates for the municipal presidency of Chiconcuautla demanded that the electoral authorities call special elections, since they accused an alleged “vote buying” and incitement to violence during the process.

Morena proposed classifying “sabotage” of the Metro as a national security issue

Deputy Alejandro Robles Gómez argued that “sabotage” is a crime that is typified in the Federal Penal Code, for which he pointed out that the STC can be used as a “political weapon”.

Despite the burning of ballots, the General Council of the State Electoral Institute ratified Artemio Hernández Garrido as president of said municipality until 2024, for which he was victorious for the third time. The mayor competed under the support of the Institutional Revolutionary (PRI) and the Democratic Revolution (PRD) parties.

On that occasion, Hernández Garrido indicated that 20 polling stations were installed in Chiconcuautla, of which only 17 could be counted, due to the disturbances generated. In this sense, he accused the candidates of the other parties of allegedly being behind the violence perpetrated on June 6, since he even indicated that his home was attacked.

According to local reports, during the counting framework of the municipal elections in Puebla, several incidents were registered in at least 20 demarcations, from protests to theft of ballot boxes and armed attacks. The affected municipalities were: Acatzingo, Amozoc, Chietla, Chiconcuautla, Coxcatlán, Huejotzingo, Ixtacamaxtitlán and Xayacatlán.

In Oaxaca and Chiapas, the burning of electoral material was also reported in 2021 (Photo: Special)

Puebla was not the only state where electoral material was destroyed during last year’s elections. In Oaxaca, extraordinary incidents were reported in which ballots were also burned. These events occurred in the town of Barra de Copalita, located in the municipality of San Miguel del Puerto.

Preliminarily, it was indicated that said disturbances would have been in response to the lack of support from the government in the face of the ravages left by Hurricane Agatha after it passed through the entity. It is presumed that part of the victims were behind the burning of ballot boxes.

However, the head of the Oaxaca Public Security Secretariat (SSP), Dalia Baños Noyola, attributed these incidents to alleged agrarian and social conflicts with the municipal authorities. Given this situation, more than 2,500 troops were deployed in the region.

In Chiapas, the burning of ballots and electoral material was also reported. According to the president of the Institute for Elections and Citizen Participation (IEPC), Oswaldo Chacón Rojas, residents of Jericó, in the municipality of El Parral, carried out these violent acts. He said that the disturbances were related to section 1837. Due to these events, one person was arrested.

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