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Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Claim govt setting up polytechs to fail
The government has been accused of setting up polytechnics to fail after the revelation that almost one in 10 jobs have been cut in the past year. Papers released under the Official Information Act showed staff figures at Te Pukenga dropped from 10,480 in 2023 to 9625 in 2024, a cut of about 8%. While the data did not break down into individual units, the information comes as Otago Polytechnic looks to slim down, announcing changes to the Capable NZ programme last week, and cutting nine courses before last Christmas. Te Pukenga was formed in 2020 by bringing together the country's 16 institutes of technology and polytechnics (ITPs). Green MP Francisco Hernandez said the staff cuts had been demoralising. "The damage of the government's destructive reforms to Te Pūkenga and their underfunding of our tertiary sector are being felt right across the country, with nearly one in 10 jobs being lost at Te Pūkenga. "These cuts will not just hurt staff and students but also the regional communities that depend on Te Pūkenga to deliver skills, jobs and training to our regions." He said communities were already feeling the impacts. Recent reports of cuts to Capable NZ were on top of cuts already made to courses such as the horticulture, health and English language programmes. "Instead of forcing critical polytechs to cut staff and programmes to stay afloat under the government's new model, the government needs to recognise the valuable work that polytechs and universities do and give them the resourcing and support they need to succeed." The government introduced legislation breaking up Te Pukenga last month, but it is not yet known which polytechnics would stand alone and which would be absorbed into the federation model. Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds said the government asked the Tertiary Education Commission to work with Te Pūkenga to support polytechnics in reviewing their operations — an exercise that "really should have taken place when Te Pūkenga was established", she said. "While the operational decisions are made by the institutions themselves, I believe it's appropriate that each polytechnic is taking the steps needed to ensure their long-term viability. "These decisions are never easy, but they are necessary to build a more stable and sustainable vocational education system." Asked about the potential loss of institutional memory at the polytechnics, Ms Simmonds conceded it could be an issue. "We need to ensure that as we transition into a new system, we retain the best of what our institutions and people have built over time. "That's why we are taking a measured approach to reform — ensuring there is continuity, while also creating a system that is better aligned with the needs of learners, employers, and regional economies." Tertiary Education Union assistant general secretary Daniel Benson-Guiu said the "real concern" was that nothing had been formally established to replace Te Pukenga. Several "strategic" courses had already faced cuts, he said. "We would like to see a vocational education system that can cater for all of the communities. "With these cuts, the government is setting itself up to fail." Ms Simmonds said the reforms to the system would make it more efficient. "It will be up to each polytechnic to manage its workforce in a way that reflects its financial situation, enrolment patterns, and local training needs. "Under the new system, I expect institutions to be more accountable and better equipped to make prudent, forward-looking staffing and operational choices."
Otago Daily Times
04-06-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Waikato University pressing on with med school plan
The University of Waikato is pressing ahead with its third medical school proposal, despite all indications it is now on life support. The Otago Daily Times has obtained a document advertising the position of an "independent commissioning agent" for the project. Interested parties have until the end of the month to submit applications, and a decision is due to made before July 4. "It is important to note that this procurement exercise is being conducted in parallel to the approval of the detailed business case being considered by government for a proposed medical school," the document said. "As such, there is no commitment that this contract will be awarded should the business case not be approved." A firm preference is placed on those with previous experience within the sector. "We are seeking respondents that have demonstrable experience in successfully delivering independent commissioning agent services on projects with a similar nature to ensure a seamless set-up and handover of the building to the university." The role would last about two and a-half years, depending on how long the first stage took to complete. It does not mention a salary band. There was also a outlay plan for stage 1 of the "division of health" precinct, which would provide teaching and learning facilities for the proposed new medical school and support the division's existing programmes in nursing, midwifery and pharmacy. "The division is in a strong growth phase and has more than 1000 equivalent fulltime students in these existing programmes," a Waikato University spokeswoman said. Green MP Francisco Hernandez said there was a level of desperation to these documents. "Aotearoa desperately needs more doctors and medical professionals, but unfortunately this government is just tinkering around the issue while at its core the problem gets worse. "The Health Minister should do the right thing and kill off this zombie project once and for all rather than keeping it in limbo. "Setting up a new medical school at a university with no track record of delivering medical graduates and which will require substantial levels of capital investment is a bad use of time and resources." The Waikato Medical School proposal has proved controversial — the existing medical schools at Otago and Auckland Universities argue they can deliver more medical school students more cheaply and efficiently. National campaigned on the third medical school at the 2023 election, but Act New Zealand made it part of its coalition agreement it would not like the project to go ahead without a detailed cost-benefit analysis. When asked about progress on the project, and when the government would likely announce an outcome, Health Minister Simeon Brown reiterated the proposal remained under "active consideration". This is despite the fact no extra money exists in the Budget for the project for this year. Documentation from Treasury, the Tertiary Education Commission and Ministry of Education have all expressed concern about the cost of the project, the logistical hurdles in establishing it and the speed at which the government hoped to complete it. An Otago University spokeswoman said ministers had been clear both before and after the Budget no final decisions had been taken on the proposal for a third medical school. "Already this year we have taken 10 more domestic students, and we will take another 10 students next year. "Otago is able to immediately increase our medical intake from 323 to 348 students, raising it to 450 from 2027. "This increase in students would not require any new capital funding as we would largely reconfigure use of existing facilities and resources."
Malay Mail
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Ex-lawyer for Sinaloa Cartel boss El Chapo and former drug smuggler among candidates in Mexico's judicial elections
Judicial reform raises concerns over rule of law in Mexico Critics fear reform may increase organised crime influence Election agency could disqualify ineligible candidates after vote CIUDAD JUAREZ (Mexico), May 24 — When residents in the state of Durango vote in Mexico's first judicial elections next weekend, Leopoldo Chavez will be on the ballot for federal judge — despite the nearly six years he served in a US prison. Chavez was convicted on drug offenses: for smuggling over 4 kilograms of methamphetamines in 2015. Durango is part of Mexico's Golden Triangle, a cartel-controlled region growing marijuana and opium poppies. 'I've never sold myself as the perfect candidate,' Chavez said in a video he shared on Facebook. He said he had nothing to hide and had served his time. He declined to comment to Reuters. In the nearby Pacific coast state of Jalisco, Francisco Hernandez is running to be a criminal magistrate even though the last time he served as a judge he was dismissed by the Federal Judiciary Council after an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse and corruption. He told Reuters the accusations were 'slander and defamation.' 'Let the people judge me,' he said. And in Nuevo Leon, Fernando Escamilla is hoping to become a federal criminal judge and says the legal work he did advising lawyers for members of the ultra-violent Los Zetas cartel should not be held against him. His knowledge of extradition law, on which he advised the capos, made him an asset, he told Reuters in an interview. 'Does being an advisor on international or extradition law give you a bad public reputation? I don't think so, since that's the only thing that demonstrates that you have the ability and knowledge to handle these types of situations,' Escamilla said. Ahead of the elections on June 1, civil organisations, judge associations and some Mexican lawmakers are raising serious concerns about a vote that critics warn could jeopardise the country's rule of law. The controversial judicial overhaul was proposed by leftist former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and supported by his protege, President Claudia Sheinbaum. Both said it would root out corruption in Mexico's flawed judiciary and allow the people to decide who should be a judge. Around 5,000 candidates are vying for more than 840 federal positions, including all Supreme Court justices. But with the vote just over a week away, Mexican rights group Defensorxs says it has identified about 20 people vying for positions that have criminal indiscretions, corruption allegations against them or past links to cartels, including a defence lawyer who represented drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. An analysis by the Judicial Electoral Observatory (OEJ), made up of non-profit organisations, has also flagged more than 130 candidates with a high probability of winning in the absence of opposing candidates, and criticised problems in the design of complicated ballots that feature hundreds of names and may confuse voters. The reform, passed in September 2024, was criticised by then US ambassador Ken Salazar, who served during the administration of President Joe Biden, as a threat to Mexican democracy. Critics say the reform, one of the most broad-ranging to be attempted in recent years by any country in the Western Hemisphere, risks removing checks and balances on the ruling Morena party and allowing organised crime groups greater influence over the judicial system. The reform reduces the number of Supreme Court judges to nine from 11, cuts the length of their terms to 12 years, abolishes a minimum age requirement of 35, and halves necessary legal practice to five years. It also scraps some benefits for judicial workers and creates a five-person disciplinary tribunal, which critics argue is insufficient to oversee a 50,000-member judiciary. Defensorxs president Miguel Meza said that the candidates his organisation had flagged revealed grave flaws in the government vetting system, which was meant to verify eligibility criteria including: Mexican citizenship by birth, a bachelor's degree in law, 'good reputation,' and a record clean of serious crime. Meza said his organisation has been making its way through the list of candidates and had identified other problematic names that they had yet to publish. Meza said aspiring judges were apparently not screened for foreign convictions or who they had legally represented. He put much of the problem down to rushing the election. 'Everything we're seeing is the result of trying to fast-track this reform,' Meza said. Sheinbaum's office and Mexico's federal judiciary did not respond to a request for comment on the reform or the vetting. Both the ruling coalition and the electoral authority have tried to distance themselves from questions about eligibility, saying it is too late to do anything before the election. Victorious candidates proven to be ineligible will have to be removed after the vote, election authorities said. A Mexican association of magistrates and judges, JUFED, said the list of controversial candidates confirms its view that the reform is a threat to judicial independence in Mexico. 'What's happening with the election is dangerous,' said JUFED national director Juana Fuentes. 'There is a serious risk that criminal interests or groups, or people representing them, could become involved.' Most of Mexico's sitting Supreme Court justices announced they would not participate in the elections and instead will resign. Candidates cannot use campaign materials that link them to a political party, participate in events organised by political parties or accept donations of any kind. Silvia Delgado, former defense attorney for Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman in 2016 and current candidate for criminal judge, distributes campaign materials ahead of Mexico's first judicial elections, to be held on June 1, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, May 12, 2025. — Reuters pic Professional duty Perhaps the candidate who has garnered the most headlines is Silvia Delgado, who represented the notorious El Chapo, former chief of the Sinaloa Cartel, in 2016. She visited him weekly in prison to share updates before he was extradited to the United States and eventually sentenced to life in prison. Now, she hopes to become a criminal court judge in Chihuahua. On a recent afternoon in the border town of Ciudad Juarez, Delgado braved the sweltering heat to hand out flyers and chat to voters outside a local school. A single mom, who raised four children and put herself through law school, Delgado strikes a charismatic figure, in a black skirt suit and chunky heels. 'I'm not corrupt,' she said, 'they can't burn you for having represented someone.' 'The best legacy I can give, as a human being and for my children and grandchildren, is to have been a person of integrity, who always defended people.' She said she considers her work representing El Chapo, which included filing a petition that he be provided a blanket in prison, to be in line with her professional duties. Delgado is upfront about the reason she took on the job. It was, she says, a big step up for her as a lawyer; and one she'd take again. 'I was interested because it was a career opportunity... Working on the case of such a famous figure.' She said she had not had any contact with El Chapo's lawyers since the case, though she did agree to help his wife, a US-Mexican dual national, take her children to the United States. She kept her harshest words for activist Meza, describing him as 'irresponsible' and running a 'Robin Hood group' bent on 'directly attacking me.' Meza said Defensorxs was not interested in 'attacking' any candidate, but exposing the risks associated with them. 'Our goal is to inform the public about these risks so they can take them into account when exercising their right to vote.' 'It seems clear to us that this risk exists in Silvia Delgado's case,' he added. He did not identify other concerns apart from her legal work for El Chapo. Media war Senate leader Gerardo Fernandez Norona, a powerful member of the ruling party, told Reuters the focus on the eligibility of certain candidates was a 'racist, classist' media war aimed at discrediting the elections. 'It's not important. It's not relevant,' Norona said, adding that people found ineligible could be withdrawn after the vote. The INE electoral authority has made it clear that names cannot be removed ahead of the vote. Claudia Zavala, an electoral advisor at INE, said the body should have been included earlier in the vetting process, which was conducted by committee members selected by Congress, the judicial power and the executive branch of government. ',' she said. Now, all that can be done by INE is a post-election review of any formal complaints about candidates in order to prove a person is ineligible to hold office, Zavala said. If a winner does not meet the requirements, the role would go to the second-placed finisher. However, any investigation into a candidate's eligibility must be completed by June 15, Zavala said, when election results are finalised and positions confirmed. 'The evidence must be very clear,' she said. — Reuters
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
El Chapo's former lawyer and an ex-drug smuggler on the ballot to be judges in Mexico
By Cassandra Garrison CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) -When residents in the state of Durango vote in Mexico's first judicial elections next weekend, Leopoldo Chavez will be on the ballot for federal judge - despite the nearly six years he served in a U.S. prison. Chavez was convicted on drug offenses: for smuggling over 4 kilograms of methamphetamines in 2015. Durango is part of Mexico's Golden Triangle, a cartel-controlled region growing marijuana and opium poppies. "I've never sold myself as the perfect candidate," Chavez said in a video he shared on Facebook. He said he had nothing to hide and had served his time. He declined to comment to Reuters. In the nearby Pacific coast state of Jalisco, Francisco Hernandez is running to be a criminal magistrate even though the last time he served as a judge he was dismissed by the Federal Judiciary Council after an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse and corruption. He told Reuters the accusations were "slander and defamation." "Let the people judge me," he said. And in Nuevo Leon, Fernando Escamilla is hoping to become a federal criminal judge and says the legal work he did advising lawyers for members of the ultra-violent Los Zetas cartel should not be held against him. His knowledge of extradition law, on which he advised the capos, made him an asset, he told Reuters in an interview. "Does being an advisor on international or extradition law give you a bad public reputation? I don't think so, since that's the only thing that demonstrates that you have the ability and knowledge to handle these types of situations," Escamilla said. Ahead of the elections on June 1, civil organizations, judge associations and some Mexican lawmakers are raising serious concerns about a vote that critics warn could jeopardize the country's rule of law. The controversial judicial overhaul was proposed by leftist former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and supported by his protege, President Claudia Sheinbaum. Both said it would root out corruption in Mexico's flawed judiciary and allow the people to decide who should be a judge. Around 5,000 candidates are vying for more than 840 federal positions, including all Supreme Court justices. But with the vote just over a week away, Mexican rights group Defensorxs says it has identified about 20 people vying for positions that have criminal indiscretions, corruption allegations against them or past links to cartels, including a defense lawyer who represented drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. An analysis by the Judicial Electoral Observatory (OEJ), made up of non-profit organizations, has also flagged more than 130 candidates with a high probability of winning in the absence of opposing candidates, and criticized problems in the design of complicated ballots that feature hundreds of names and may confuse voters. The reform, passed in September 2024, was criticized by then U.S. ambassador Ken Salazar, who served during the administration of President Joe Biden, as a threat to Mexican democracy. Critics say the reform, one of the most broad-ranging to be attempted in recent years by any country in the Western Hemisphere, risks removing checks and balances on the ruling Morena party and allowing organized crime groups greater influence over the judicial system. The reform reduces the number of Supreme Court judges to nine from 11, cuts the length of their terms to 12 years, abolishes a minimum age requirement of 35, and halves necessary legal practice to five years. It also scraps some benefits for judicial workers and creates a five-person disciplinary tribunal, which critics argue is insufficient to oversee a 50,000-member judiciary. Defensorxs president Miguel Meza said that the candidates his organization had flagged revealed grave flaws in the government vetting system, which was meant to verify eligibility criteria including: Mexican citizenship by birth, a bachelor's degree in law, "good reputation," and a record clean of serious crime. Meza said his organization has been making its way through the list of candidates and had identified other problematic names that they had yet to publish. Meza said aspiring judges were apparently not screened for foreign convictions or who they had legally represented. He put much of the problem down to rushing the election. "Everything we're seeing is the result of trying to fast-track this reform," Meza said. Sheinbaum's office and Mexico's federal judiciary did not respond to a request for comment on the reform or the vetting. Both the ruling coalition and the electoral authority have tried to distance themselves from questions about eligibility, saying it is too late to do anything before the election. Victorious candidates proven to be ineligible will have to be removed after the vote, election authorities said. A Mexican association of magistrates and judges, JUFED, said the list of controversial candidates confirms its view that the reform is a threat to judicial independence in Mexico. "What's happening with the election is dangerous," said JUFED national director Juana Fuentes. "There is a serious risk that criminal interests or groups, or people representing them, could become involved." Most of Mexico's sitting Supreme Court justices announced they would not participate in the elections and instead will resign. Candidates cannot use campaign materials that link them to a political party, participate in events organized by political parties or accept donations of any kind. PROFESSIONAL DUTY Perhaps the candidate who has garnered the most headlines is Silvia Delgado, who represented the notorious El Chapo, former chief of the Sinaloa Cartel, in 2016. She visited him weekly in prison to share updates before he was extradited to the United States and eventually sentenced to life in prison. Now, she hopes to become a criminal court judge in Chihuahua. On a recent afternoon in the border town of Ciudad Juarez, Delgado braved the sweltering heat to hand out flyers and chat to voters outside a local school. A single mom, who raised four children and put herself through law school, Delgado strikes a charismatic figure, in a black skirt suit and chunky heels. "I'm not corrupt," she said, "they can't burn you for having represented someone." "The best legacy I can give, as a human being and for my children and grandchildren, is to have been a person of integrity, who always defended people." She said she considers her work representing El Chapo, which included filing a petition that he be provided a blanket in prison, to be in line with her professional duties. Delgado is upfront about the reason she took on the job. It was, she says, a big step up for her as a lawyer; and one she'd take again. "I was interested because it was a career opportunity... Working on the case of such a famous figure." She said she had not had any contact with El Chapo's lawyers since the case, though she did agree to help his wife, a U.S.-Mexican dual national, take her children to the United States. She kept her harshest words for activist Meza, describing him as "irresponsible" and running a "Robin Hood group" bent on "directly attacking me." Meza said Defensorxs was not interested in "attacking" any candidate, but exposing the risks associated with them. "Our goal is to inform the public about these risks so they can take them into account when exercising their right to vote." "It seems clear to us that this risk exists in Silvia Delgado's case," he added. He did not identify other concerns apart from her legal work for El Chapo. MEDIA WAR Senate leader Gerardo Fernandez Norona, a powerful member of the ruling party, told Reuters the focus on the eligibility of certain candidates was a "racist, classist" media war aimed at discrediting the elections. "It's not important. It's not relevant," Norona said, adding that people found ineligible could be withdrawn after the vote. The INE electoral authority has made it clear that names cannot be removed ahead of the vote. Claudia Zavala, an electoral advisor at INE, said the body should have been included earlier in the vetting process, which was conducted by committee members selected by Congress, the judicial power and the executive branch of government. "It seems that splitting that function around other authorities was not ideal," she said. Now, all that can be done by INE is a post-election review of any formal complaints about candidates in order to prove a person is ineligible to hold office, Zavala said. If a winner does not meet the requirements, the role would go to the second-placed finisher. However, any investigation into a candidate's eligibility must be completed by June 15, Zavala said, when election results are finalized and positions confirmed. "The evidence must be very clear," she said.
Reuters
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
El Chapo's former lawyer and an ex-drug smuggler are on the ballot to be judges in Mexico
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, May 24 (Reuters) - When residents in the state of Durango vote in Mexico's first judicial elections next weekend, Leopoldo Chavez will be on the ballot for federal judge - despite the nearly six years he served in a U.S. prison. Chavez was convicted on drug offenses: for smuggling over 4 kilograms of methamphetamines in 2015. Durango is part of Mexico's Golden Triangle, a cartel-controlled region growing marijuana and opium poppies. "I've never sold myself as the perfect candidate," Chavez said in a video he shared on Facebook. He said he had nothing to hide and had served his time. He declined to comment to Reuters. In the nearby Pacific coast state of Jalisco, Francisco Hernandez is running to be a criminal magistrate even though the last time he served as a judge he was dismissed by the Federal Judiciary Council after an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse and corruption. He told Reuters the accusations were "slander and defamation." "Let the people judge me," he said. And in Nuevo Leon, Fernando Escamilla is hoping to become a federal criminal judge and says the legal work he did advising lawyers for members of the ultra-violent Los Zetas cartel should not be held against him. His knowledge of extradition law, on which he advised the capos, made him an asset, he told Reuters in an interview. "Does being an advisor on international or extradition law give you a bad public reputation? I don't think so, since that's the only thing that demonstrates that you have the ability and knowledge to handle these types of situations," Escamilla said. Ahead of the elections on June 1, civil organizations, judge associations and some Mexican lawmakers are raising serious concerns about a vote that critics warn could jeopardize the country's rule of law. The controversial judicial overhaul was proposed by leftist former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and supported by his protege, President Claudia Sheinbaum. Both said it would root out corruption in Mexico's flawed judiciary and allow the people to decide who should be a judge. Around 5,000 candidates are vying for more than 840 federal positions, including all Supreme Court justices. But with the vote just over a week away, Mexican rights group Defensorxs says it has identified about 20 people vying for positions that have criminal indiscretions, corruption allegations against them or past links to cartels, including a defense lawyer who represented drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. An analysis by the Judicial Electoral Observatory (OEJ), made up of non-profit organizations, has also flagged more than 130 candidates with a high probability of winning in the absence of opposing candidates, and criticized problems in the design of complicated ballots that feature hundreds of names and may confuse voters. The reform, passed in September 2024, was criticized by then U.S. ambassador Ken Salazar, who served during the administration of President Joe Biden, as a threat to Mexican democracy. Critics say the reform, one of the most broad-ranging to be attempted in recent years by any country in the Western Hemisphere, risks removing checks and balances on the ruling Morena party and allowing organized crime groups greater influence over the judicial system. The reform reduces the number of Supreme Court judges to nine from 11, cuts the length of their terms to 12 years, abolishes a minimum age requirement of 35, and halves necessary legal practice to five years. It also scraps some benefits for judicial workers and creates a five-person disciplinary tribunal, which critics argue is insufficient to oversee a 50,000-member judiciary. Defensorxs president Miguel Meza said that the candidates his organization had flagged revealed grave flaws in the government vetting system, which was meant to verify eligibility criteria including: Mexican citizenship by birth, a bachelor's degree in law, "good reputation," and a record clean of serious crime. Meza said his organization has been making its way through the list of candidates and had identified other problematic names that they had yet to publish. Meza said aspiring judges were apparently not screened for foreign convictions or who they had legally represented. He put much of the problem down to rushing the election. "Everything we're seeing is the result of trying to fast-track this reform," Meza said. Sheinbaum's office and Mexico's federal judiciary did not respond to a request for comment on the reform or the vetting. Both the ruling coalition and the electoral authority have tried to distance themselves from questions about eligibility, saying it is too late to do anything before the election. Victorious candidates proven to be ineligible will have to be removed after the vote, election authorities said. A Mexican association of magistrates and judges, JUFED, said the list of controversial candidates confirms its view that the reform is a threat to judicial independence in Mexico. "What's happening with the election is dangerous," said JUFED national director Juana Fuentes. "There is a serious risk that criminal interests or groups, or people representing them, could become involved." Most of Mexico's sitting Supreme Court justices announced they would not participate in the elections and instead will resign. Candidates cannot use campaign materials that link them to a political party, participate in events organized by political parties or accept donations of any kind. Perhaps the candidate who has garnered the most headlines is Silvia Delgado, who represented the notorious El Chapo, former chief of the Sinaloa Cartel, in 2016. She visited him weekly in prison to share updates before he was extradited to the United States and eventually sentenced to life in prison. Now, she hopes to become a criminal court judge in Chihuahua. On a recent afternoon in the border town of Ciudad Juarez, Delgado braved the sweltering heat to hand out flyers and chat to voters outside a local school. A single mom, who raised four children and put herself through law school, Delgado strikes a charismatic figure, in a black skirt suit and chunky heels. "I'm not corrupt," she said, "they can't burn you for having represented someone." "The best legacy I can give, as a human being and for my children and grandchildren, is to have been a person of integrity, who always defended people." She said she considers her work representing El Chapo, which included filing a petition that he be provided a blanket in prison, to be in line with her professional duties. Delgado is upfront about the reason she took on the job. It was, she says, a big step up for her as a lawyer; and one she'd take again. "I was interested because it was a career opportunity... Working on the case of such a famous figure." She said she had not had any contact with El Chapo's lawyers since the case, though she did agree to help his wife, a U.S.-Mexican dual national, take her children to the United States. She kept her harshest words for activist Meza, describing him as "irresponsible" and running a "Robin Hood group" bent on "directly attacking me." Meza said Defensorxs was not interested in "attacking" any candidate, but exposing the risks associated with them. "Our goal is to inform the public about these risks so they can take them into account when exercising their right to vote." "It seems clear to us that this risk exists in Silvia Delgado's case," he added. He did not identify other concerns apart from her legal work for El Chapo. Senate leader Gerardo Fernandez Norona, a powerful member of the ruling party, told Reuters the focus on the eligibility of certain candidates was a "racist, classist" media war aimed at discrediting the elections. "It's not important. It's not relevant," Norona said, adding that people found ineligible could be withdrawn after the vote. The INE electoral authority has made it clear that names cannot be removed ahead of the vote. Claudia Zavala, an electoral advisor at INE, said the body should have been included earlier in the vetting process, which was conducted by committee members selected by Congress, the judicial power and the executive branch of government. "It seems that splitting that function around other authorities was not ideal," she said. Now, all that can be done by INE is a post-election review of any formal complaints about candidates in order to prove a person is ineligible to hold office, Zavala said. If a winner does not meet the requirements, the role would go to the second-placed finisher. However, any investigation into a candidate's eligibility must be completed by June 15, Zavala said, when election results are finalized and positions confirmed. "The evidence must be very clear," she said.
