Lawmakers from PRI, PAN, PRD and Movimiento Ciudadano demanded that the Standing Committee be convened in the face-to-face session and accused Morena of using different pretexts to prevent the debate on issues related to the health and economic crisis by COVID-19.
In the previous few days, a couple of attempts were missed by the Standing Committee to take place virtually, last week, due to technical problems.
“We cannot share the position that there are no conditions for session. It is contrary to representative democracy to use health reasons not endorsed by the General Health Council or explanations of technical inability to violate the freedom of expression, opinion and criticism of those who think differently and to curb an essential activity that had never been suspended in Mexico’s history,” the so-called “containment group” noted in a statement.
Morena’s lawmakers, they noted, have refused to convene the Standing Committee because they seek to “silence the debate” of the issues demanded by society.
“We cannot allow the official majority, under the most diverse pretexts, to continue to circumvent public debate on matters of national interest with the political plurality of the country. Under pretexts, they refuse to acknowledge that it is against the Constitution and without legal basis the suspension of the sessions of the Standing Committee,” they said.
In their message, they criticized the federal government’s denial of increasing the amount of tests being done to detect possible cases of coronavirus.
“Among other reasons, this is why the number of deaths the virus has caused in our country is above that achieved, for example, in China, which has 11 times more population than ours; while 41 health workers have perished in Italy, 111 are counted in Mexico. This denotes the lack of sufficient and adequate equipment, timely disseminated protocols and institutional support for health sector staff in the performance of their duty.”
As for job losses, they questioned the failure to “announce a package of effective economic stimulus to counteract the consequences of the pandemic on productive activities.”
Morena has refused to convene the Standing Committee of Congress because they seek to silence the debate on the issues demanded by society. The legislators of the Containment Bloc make an urgent call to session and comply with our constitutional obligation, ?? pic.twitter.com/zIgLwJP7Mu
— Juan C. Romero Hicks (@JCRomeroHicks) May 18, 2020
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