Mexico City.– Miguel Ángel Yunes Linares said that there was no threat or pressure from the Government in the decision that led his son of the same name to support the reform of the Judicial Branch as a senator.
“I don’t give in, I’m not a person who accepts that kind of thing. I can tell you that nobody has threatened us or forced us to do anything. The president said it very clearly: there was no negotiation, no agreement, no threat, nothing.
“It was a totally free decision. I don’t know why people want to question people’s freedom. No, in this case Miguel decided to vote in favor. If there had been something along the lines of what you say, we would surely have gone out to denounce it. There was absolutely nothing,” he said. In a telephone interview, the former governor of Veracruz blamed Marko Cortés for having ordered the expulsion of both of them from the ranks of the PAN, but predicted that the party leader will be made to look “ridiculous” after the Superior Court intervenes and reverses the resolution adopted the day before by the PAN.
He also denied the version that the United States had cancelled his and his son’s visas.
What is your view of the situation that arose from Tuesday’s session in the Senate? What I see is that the debate continues, as is normal. The reform will surely be enacted in the next few days; Congress has already been called to a session, which is the final part of the process after having been approved by the Congress of the Union and the local legislatures, and I understand that a stabilization phase will follow. I see and am very pleased that the Supreme Court resumed sessions and I believe that this will come at a time when it will stabilize and the procedures established in the constitutional reform will begin. And what about Yunes Jr. and Yunes Sr.? Obviously, Miguel, the senator, he will obviously continue in the Senate of the Republic and his father will continue to work on other things… Last night the Permanent Commission of the PAN decided to expel you two… No, it is not the expulsion: it is the beginning of the procedure that is established in the statutes of the PAN (here I have the articles of the statutes: 128 and 129, where it is clearly established that there is a procedure that must be followed), but I am sure that they will not have any success. What they want to do is not to take away our membership in the PAN. We have been members for 20 years: what they want to do is to restrict freedoms and this is terrible. Our fight is not going to be just to continue being a member. It is going to be to fight for the freedom of people and of parliamentarians, not to be forced to do nothing. It is crazy to want to restrict freedoms that are in the Constitution and in the principles of the doctrine of the PAN. The first principle of the PAN is ‘Person and Freedom’, that is what it is called. I am absolutely certain that in the legal process that will arise from all this, which will reach the Electoral Court, we will not only beat them, we will make them look ridiculous. And I will tell you why: this is an issue resolved by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. And the Supreme Court has made it clear that no party can intervene in parliamentary life and in the freedom of citizens, in the freedom of citizens. The Court says that political parties, in their sanctioning sphere, are conditioned to continue their actions in accordance with the legal mandates established in the Federal Constitution, without having the authority to subject legislators to sanctioning procedures for actions in benefit of their parliamentary activity. And here it is more clearly: although a party continues to maintain a link with the legislators it nominated at the time, such a relationship does not generate legal powers to interfere in strictly parliamentary activities or in the actions of legislative groups, period. And this resolution was taken by the Superior Chamber, reiterating that the PAN does not have the authority to expel anyone as a result of a vote against a parliamentary deliberation. This is nonsense: it is very serious that the PAN, which has always said that it fights for democracy, freedom and human dignity, today wants to limit the freedom of legislators. Imagine if Marko Cortés came and said ‘here I have 22 votes, these are my votes, as if I were a Board of Directors of a company. There is a group, but those parliamentarians have the freedom to give their opinion. And it was not just Miguel: there were 86 who voted for the reform. And I am concerned that the PAN, as a result of this free resolution, based on its right, wants to expel him. They also initiated a procedure to expel a deputy from Oaxaca, with what right? Where does it say that legislators must vote as Marko Cortés determines? Marko Cortés should have tried to convince Mexicans to vote for the PAN. It is a lack of respect for legislators and the people. The decision is supported by what is established in the statutes: that if a member supports another party, it is grounds for expulsion… But that is not the case. In this case, there was no support from a member to another party. There was a vote in favor of an initiative, which is totally different. What Article 128 says is that a member can be expelled when he joins another party or is a candidate for another party when he supports another party in an election, and here there was a parliamentary decision where no one can be forced. And does it make sense that both your son and yourself try to continue being members of the PAN, where you are repudiated…? Forgive me, but I reject and repudiate what you say: we are not repudiated in the PAN. There are millions of people in the PAN who disagree with the desire to restrict freedom, because they are people who believe in the principles of doctrine. No, what there has been is a rejection by Marko Cortés because he wanted to impose a vote against an initiative, simply because he wanted to impose it. There is no repudiation by the PAN members, there is repudiation by Marko Cortés and we responded with complete precision, with the vote that Miguel gave, with the positioning in the tribune and with my positioning. We must not confuse the PAN with Marko Cortés. Marko Cortés is already leaving. What has been aired in public opinion, that they received pressure and threats from the Government, through Adán Augusto López who approached you to threaten you with the use of investigation files… I do not bend, I am not a person who admits that type of thing. I can tell you that no one has threatened or forced us to do anything. The President said it very clearly: there was no negotiation, no agreement, no threat or anything. It was a totally free decision. I don’t know why you want to question people’s freedom. No, in this case Miguel decided to vote in favour. If there had been something along the lines you say, we would surely have gone out to denounce it. There was absolutely nothing. What will happen in the next Senate session? Where could your son sit? Well, in some seat, he will go to the session and sit where they assign him his place. The people who attended the session on Tuesday were left wanting to know what the meaning of your vote would be if you could have voted. Exactly in the same sense of Miguel’s position and vote. Obviously in the same sense, because we studied the initiative for several days, and Miguel told me ‘I’m going to vote in favour’ and I fully agree. He would have voted exactly the same… Last week, with the rest of the PAN bench, his son announced a vote against… No, forgive me, it was not like that: Marko Cortés asked the PAN senators to go before civil society organizations to try to make him look good by committing to a vote in presence and a vote against. Things should not be like that. They never called a meeting to analyze the ruling and say we are for and against. Simply, ‘we are going to oppose the system’ and that is precisely what Miguel does not want. In this new situation, what do you think of President López Obrador and Morena? The issue is not that, the issue today is judicial reform. I am not going to get into that. I do not have to get into an issue from eight years ago, why? Would you be interested in being a member of another party? Do you want to continue being a member of the PAN? Of course: I have been a member of the PAN for 20 years. There is no reason for them to expel us, to insult us and to call us what they have called us. Not only are we going to win, we are going to make Marko Cortés look ridiculous. The Permanent Commission of the PAN instructs the Commission of Order and Discipline to carry out the necessary procedure, but it will surely end in expulsion. So, are you going to appeal to the Superior Court? I trust that the Commission that is in charge of this matter will analyze the arguments. I cannot say that it will necessarily end in expulsion. Do you attribute this decision to Marko Cortés? Of course. Without knowing Miguel’s voting sense and cowardly, before we arrived at the Senate, he already offended us by telling us a bunch of nonsense. Is it true that they suspended their visa? It’s crazy. Miguel has just been in a clinic in the United States, Fernando has just been in the United States for
a health issue, period. It’s a lie that no one’s visa has been cancelled. They said there was a recording, I already heard it and it made me laugh.
#Marko #Cortés #ridiculous #Yunes #Linares
