INE Councilor Asks Morenista Colleague to Leave Anti-Drug Commission, Cites Conflict of Interest

Carla Humphrey, a councilor at Mexico's National Electoral Institute (INE), has called for her colleague Arturo Chávez to recuse himself from the newly formed Commission for Verifying Candidacy Integrity. Humphrey cited an evident conflict of interest, as Chávez previously led the Morena party in Tlalpan and advised current Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

"As I have done, when I have had that issue, when one has a conflict of interest, one must recuse oneself, and there should also be a priority of councilors to replace those who have such a conflict of interest," Humphrey stated. The "Taddei group" within the INE's Council Mesa voted to appoint Chávez, alongside Uuc-kib Espadas and Norma Irene de la Cruz, to the commission.

Chávez's political background includes serving as Morena's leader in Tlalpan and as an advisor to Sheinbaum during her tenure as mayor. He later held the position of head of Talleres Gráficos de México before becoming an INE councilor.

Humphrey also expressed dissatisfaction with the commission's defined responsibilities, feeling its role was diminished. "It is left as a mere documentation review office. I will support the agreement, but I do not agree; from the beginning, I raised the issue of what I believe should be the work of this commission," she said, lamenting that it was reduced to a "simple mailroom."