What riled the 25-year-old legislator so much was that the bill arrived in Congress thanks to a citizen initiative that had collected 633,000 signatures. It was supported by dozens of NGOs, academics, civic organizations and the general public, as a demonstration that Mexicans could organize themselves and do something about corruption, Kumamoto said. A significant percentage of the signatures for the bill originated in Jalisco, from universities such as the ITESO and Tec de Monterrey.
Senators rejected the “Iniciativa ciudadana ‘Ley 3 de 3’ contra la corrupción” in an 59-51 vote. Jalisco’s Arturo Zamora and Jesús Casillas from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) toed their party’s line and voted against the measure. This state’s third representative in the Senate, Jose Maria Martinez of the National Action Party (PAN), was among 17 senators who did not bother to turn up to vote.
Later, in the early hours of Wednesday, after a series of behind-closed-doors meetings, senators approved a watered-down version of the bill that allows politicians to opt out of declaring their assets and interests if they choose. However, what some commentators are calling an act of hostility toward the private sector – instrumental in bringing this bill to the floor of Congress – the PRI senators decided that companies and individuals who sign public contracts with governments will be subject to financial scrutiny.
Kumamoto labelled the revised legislation a “decaffeinated” version of the original proposal submitted by citizens.
Speaking to the Guadalajara media, Kumamoto said the three local senators would not be able to “hide” in Mexico City. “They will pay the political cost for this terrible decision, one that was made in shady corners and that encourages corruption.”
Kumamoto slammed the Jalisco senators for ignoring the wishes of more than half a million Mexicans and asked the electorate to make their parties “pay dearly” when considering who to vote for at the next election.
“We are not in a despotic, authoritarian system, where the opinion of 633,000 isn’t important,” he said.
The legislator said he hopes the Jalisco legislature will now approve new local anti-corruption laws that will be “significantly better” than those passed by federal lawmakers this week.
Kumamoto said there was nothing wrong in people making lots of money or participating in different businesses, but that those who enter the political arena must be prepared to disclose their personal interests and wealth.
He also criticized Martinez for failing to show up for the vote. “This is not high school where we say ‘my stomach’ hurts so I’m not going to go and vote.”