The FMLN says the Veterans Movement in charge of food packages are “fighting” with their party. René Portillo Quadra, from ARENA, points out that one of the leaders of this organization is affiliated with CD.
“In short, whether you go for one or the other, this shows the payment of prebends on which alliances are made,” said the deputy head of the FMLN faction, Jorge Schafik Handal, on the case of 1,500 food packages that were unloaded by vans with government logos at a venue with the new CD sign.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office inspected the site last night after a video was posted on Teleprensa’s Twitter showing vans unloading boxes of food products that are distributed by the government during the pandemic purchased with funds authorized by the Assembly of loans and of contributions from Salvadorans.
The Attorney General, Raúl Melara, assured that he will not allow public resources to be used for the election campaign, so that the boxes remain with yellow ribbon and ordered to initiate an investigation in this regard.
Photo EDH / courtesy FGR
However, Pedro Avilés, treasurer of the Veterans Common Good Unification Board has taken responsibility for the packages, arguing that they rent a portion of the property next to the CD, but that the boxes do not they were for the party, but a help they asked the government to celebrate this January 31st “Veteran’s Day.”
“We have received these packages to celebrate the day of the Veteran that by legislative decree we will celebrate on January 31 here in this place, the confusion that has occurred is that we have our office here and the CD as well has its office, I am the treasurer, I pay this place with the help of all the affiliates that we have in the Unification Table of the Common Good “, Avilés pointed out this Friday, hours after the video circulated with the trucks unloading solidarity packages.
This Saturday the veterans organization gave a conference to clarify the facts. Journalists asked them for a copy of the letter containing this request for help from the government, but said they did not have it at this time.
“This is for the benefit of the needs, as stated in the statutes, we as a Board of Directors have an obligation to ensure the rights of our veterans and this is how our management with the Presidential House obtained this good help and support from Capres through the President of the Republic, we see him with great concern, our organization is not political, it is non-profit, with the sole purpose of ensuring the rights of veterans, “said Gabriel Durán, vice president of the ‘Veterans Association.
Avilés, the treasurer of the Movement added that they have not removed the colors of the CD party because they have not had funds to do so, however, he reported that they have been renting the premises for a year and a half.
Photo EDH / Lissette Monterrosa
Aldo Alvarez, National Secretary of Communications for Democratic Change, has stated that the party occupies only part of the infrastructure and that they share the parking lot with other tenants. He assumes this may be due to the confusion with which the packages went to the party and not to the Veterans Movement.
“Strongly I tell you that this was not an activity of the CD, we ourselves have criticized in the past that they walk around giving things to buy votes, the less we do, in addition, they are packages that are for people and come from public money and have nothing to do in election campaigns, “Alvarez said.
Opposition MPs are not convinced by the statements made on the case. Handal, of the FMLN, stated that the Veterans Movement which attributes food packages is an organization that “walked fighting with us that we have done nothing, it is the payment of the prebend with people’s money “, he reiterated.
He said it is striking that there is talk of only 1,500 boxes when there were 4 vans of those observed carrying the packages to the premises with CD slogan.
“This is not left, because of the size of the vans one takes into account, unless they have been larger packages than others, so it comes out in the photo 1,500 (boxes) would only be a van, if this photo is of everything there to take this to a single van, they are prebend payments to their allies and their comparisons, they don’t even pay them with ratatouille from them, but with ratatouille from the people, they are pure electoral clientelism, ”Handal pointed out.
In the question, the deputy René Portillo Quadra, of ARENA, maintained that he has information that one of the veterans who came out in videos giving information about the solidarity packages “is affiliated to the CD”.
According to Portillo Quadra, the worrying thing is that action has been taken through “the intervention of a party to make the delivery, what the government would have done is to deliver directly to the Movement, when they will leave them in the party, at that time it is a crime, because it is a public good, “he said.
He urged the Prosecutor’s Office to act thoroughly to investigate where the order came to take the packages to a place with a CD sign and who actually received them.
Regarding the above, in the press conference held this Saturday in Durán, the vice-president of the Movement pointed out that the Public Prosecutor’s Office confiscated yesterday the original lease of premises and a mobile cell phone in Avilés, who is the treasurer of the organization. “They took the lease which I don’t understand why they took it away because they stated that the boxes were legal,” he expressed.
The prosecutor said on his Twitter account that “at the moment, the boxes are still in place, ready for distribution, they have not been moved. We have been presented with documentation that states that they will be delivered to those who need them. ongoing research, ”he posted.
Faced with this, Duran asked the prosecution to remove the yellow tape surrounding the boxes since last night when the prosecution arrived to inspect the site.
For the deputy Raúl Beltrhán Bonilla, from the PCN, it is clear that the parties have had this bad practice for years of using public resources in the election campaign, and that it should not continue, but one wonders why in this case ” they did not imprison the CD as they imprisoned the mayor of Ilopango, “he questioned.
All of the above comes a day after the CD endorsed its support as a party to the candidacy of the former Minister of the Interior, Mario Durán, who is running for mayor of San Salvador for the New Ideas party.
Prosecutor’s office investigates local CD after video on networks of a truck unloading food packages instead of party emblem
TSE notes that time has run out to file appeals against candidacies