Pedro Kumamoto, one of two independent Senate candidates in Jalisco, has called for an end to the “dirty war” that political parties are waging in the current campaign season.
In an emotional video message transmitted on multiple social media sites, Kumamoto called it “truly intolerable, sad and dispiriting that instead of fueling the public conversation with ideas, (the political parties) are filling it with lies, underhand blows and verbal violence.”
Without referring to specific examples, Kumamoto said the nation’s political parties and power bases are “extremely angry” with him and Juanita Delgado (the other independent candidate for senator) because neither “can be bought.”
Kumamoto added he has rejected all attempts by political parties to co-opt his support, including offers of “assistance” in obtaining the statutory numbers of signatures that independent candidates require.
He also revealed that he had declined to meet behind closed doors with Raul Padilla – the “power behind the throne” at the Universidad de Guadalajara and a canny operator with immense influence in Jalisco’s political circles.
Kumamoto also noted that while serving as a state legislator, Governor Aristoteles Sandoval wanted to discuss his initiative to regulate the funding of political parties in private, but he insisted the meeting be transmitted live on Facebook as there was “nothing to hide.”
In the eight-minute video, Kumamoto urges the public to firmly reject the muckraking of the old political establishment. “For every lie and low blow, we categorically ask you make public your exuberance, conviction and desire to change this country.”