Maria de la Asuncion Gutierrez, Secretary of the Municipality of Cd. Juarez--the most important position next to the mayor's--resigned on August 29, accusing Mayor Galindo (of the PAN party to which she belongs) and his administration, among other things, of placing large numbers of persons on "public scholarships" solely on the basis of their friendship with the mayor. The resignation, apparently a surprise, threw the mayor's office into disarray and provoked the Mayor into denying the accusations. In the most damaging accusation in her letter of resignation, Gutierrez asserted the mayor had protected a friend of his within the administration who, an audit revealed, was found to be about $600 (US) short of funds and in possession of illegal drugs and firearms. She indicated she thought the mayor ordered the evidence of these findings erased from the computer system. In addition, she asserted that Lic. Carlos Angulo Parra, the local head of the PAN party but not a member of the City Council, was a dominant voice in meetings she had attended with council members. Angulo's opinions, she said, were "unmodifiable for you and the team of eight council members you head." She also indicated she was unhappy she had been allowed only a total of three hours with the Mayor since she took on the job nearly eleven months ago, and listed four specific cases in which the mayor had failed to communicate clearly with her office. These, she said, had put her "on the borderline of despair."
Mayor Ramon Galindo responded by holding a press conference in which he said he "profoundly regretted" Maria de la Asuncion Gutierrez's resignation, but denied that he had erased damaging material from the computer. He said he had "no complaints at all" against her but that "certain elements have made her feel badly". He added that she is "honest, a good person, and a friend of mine." Responding to the charge he was listening to non-council persons in council meetings, he said it was his policy to listen to the advice of many persons, and "will continue to do so." He noted that Maria de la Asuncion Gutierrez had frequently disagreed with Enrique Flores Almeida, proxy mayor and a policy coordinator, but that, thanks to him, "we have a surplus of 10 million pesos. In the wake of the resignation the Business Coordinating Council (CCE) stated it would ask the state legislature to investigate the charges made by Ms. Gutierrez, as did leaders of the PRI, the PAN, and the PRD parties. Hector Gonzalez Mocken, Municipal President of the PRI, stated "this represents the collapse of the PAN in the state of Chihuahua." PRI city councillor Ramon Ortiz Perez said he regretted the "dirty deal Galindo and his closest advisors played on Ms. Gutierrez," while Francisco Franco Reza, councillor for the PRD said "the resignation is good for the city because the mistakes made by Mrs. Gutierrez will not be repeated."
Source: Diario de Juarez, August 30, 1996