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Mexico’s President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador
has claimed that he will pardon corrupt officials who are not undergoing court proceedings, arguing that his government should do best to avoid getting bogged down in the pursuit of alleged corrupt behavior.
“Yes, it is just like it sounds: A pardon. This is what we are proposing, to tell the Mexican people that it is over. We want to put an end to our country’s tragic and terrible history of impunity and corruption, we want to put an end to anti-grassroots politics and start a new era ,” he claimed.
In an interview with several news outlets, shortly after taking flowers as an offering to Francisco I. Madero and José María Pino Suárez behind the Lecumberri palace in Mexico City, López Obrador stated that, from the moment he took office, his government would “not offer pardons to any corrupt politicians.”
“We will not pardon anyone and we will ensure that even the president can stand trial for corruption, as well as his officials and family members. We want to purge the country of corruption forever,” he claimed.
The President-elect clarified that no legal proceedings that are currently underway will be interrupted since the legislative and judicial branches of government are autonomous.
“ I am not a commander, I do not intend to become a dictator; I am a democrat . Thereupon, I will not order the judicial nor the legislative power –which are autonomous- to halt legal proceedings for acts of corruption. All cases currently in progress will continue and the competent authorities should solve them,” he explained.
The president elect commented that his government would not focus on persecuting such crimes.
“Vengeance is not my strong suit and I do not think that the country would benefit from us getting bogged down in the pursuit of suspects. Being honest, if we want to fight corruption, we will have to start with high-profile cases , though not just with the most recent ones, but also those that happened some time ago,” he stated.
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