SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Earlier this year, Tijuana Mayor Montserrat Caballero announced plans to seek reelection, but her political party, Morena, chose someone else instead.
Admittedly disappointed and stunned by the the decision, she spoke publicly about her intentions to finish out her term and support her party’s candidate.
But as the election drew near, she reportedly swung her support to a member of another political party, something she has denied.
Last week, leaders of the Morena Party in Baja California announced they were mounting a campaign to oust Caballero from the party for insubordination.
Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, Baja’s governor who is also a member of the Morena Party along with Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico’s president, is saying the matter is confidential and she plans to stay out of it.
“This is party matter, I’ve always been respectful of decisions taken by our party,” said Ávila Olmeda during her weekly meeting with reporters. “I’ll always support party unity and will respect this process against the mayor.”
Caballero meantime insisted she is a staunch supporter of the Morena Party.
“I respect the institution, I will not fall for this provocation, I’ve always followed the platforms,” said Caballero. “I never challenged my colleague’s candidacy as a way to demonstrate peace within our party something I truly wanted, nevertheless, these accusations continue.”
Ismael Burgueño, Morena’s choice over Caballero, won the mayoral election last month.
“I am an Obrador supporter and always will be, I consider myself one of the founders of the party in our state, it’s a movement that I carry here (tapping her heart) not just on paper.”
As an ongoing protest by members of the Morena Party, several council members have refused to meet with Caballero to discuss or vote on city matters during scheduled council meetings.
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