PRI finally delivered on its threat to seek impeachment against Emilio González Márquez, and filed a petition in the federal chamber of deputies to have the Jalisco governor removed from power for a range of impeachable offenses, including violating the Constitution as well as various federal and criminal laws.
The issue at hand: A social conflict regarding the Tenacatita beach in Jalisco in the municipality of La Huerta. A group of villagers were kicked off property adjacent to the beach, as the surrounding property has allegedly been sold to a company that wants to turn it into a a beach resort. The case appears to be as nasty as it sounds: The locals have been harrassed, beaten, received death threats, by both private security guards as well as local Jalisco state police backing them, in order to force them off the land they say is theirs and noone's to sell.
Federal deputies from PRI, such as David Hernández Pérez and Salvador Caro Cabrera, wants to have the governor impeached. In a seeming "nailing-Al-Capone-for-tax-fraud" maneuver, they argue the governor has blocked a federal highway that gives access to the disputed property, violating free transit, to the beach, which the Mexican Constitution establishes as a public good. While future investigations of the alcoholic governor will likely show up much worse malfeasance than this (particularly showering taxpayers' money on Catholic church ,which in Jalisco is remarkably reactionary), this one may actually well come to a fruition: Reportedly, Francisco Rojas, who is head of PRI's huge parliamentary group, is backing the petition of the Jalisco legislators.
Notably, less than two months ago, the lower house of Congress voted unamimously to demand that the Jalisco government follow recommendations by the state's Human Rights Commission) to remove police forces, unblock the road, and end its siege and allow free access to La Huerta. The governor's response? Completely ignoring it.
Should this really come to be - should governor González Márquez' arrogance finally take him down - there will be some serious celebration by your truly fueled by the finest product of Jalisco - a state that so much deserves a better government than its current foul-mouthed drunkard.
