Councilwoman Carla Esparza, in Puerto Vallarta, explained how Jesús ‘Chuy’ Michel, Emmanuel ‘Mane’ Michel, and all the children of Mayor Luis Alberto Michel have handled themselves since he took over the reins of the government in October of last year.
She explained that they remove and place officials in office; they threaten the Trustee, as well as aldermen if they don’t do what they order or if they don’t vote in plenary what their father proposes, the mayor of Puerto Vallarta; they get involved in decisions that belong to the government of Puerto Vallarta and elected officials while they hold no official job within the government.
On September 30, at the Town Hall Session being broadcasted live on local access, Carla Esparza publicly denounced that Jesús ‘Chuy’ Michel tried to bribe her by giving her a yellow envelope, apparently with money, which was from the mayor so that she would vote in favor of the budget modifications, and thus raise the Expenditure Budget of the Municipality for this year by an additional $800 million pesos.
On live television, Esparza says “At this moment, and with my fellow witnesses, I hand over an envelope that was given to me supposedly on the Mayor’s behalf by his son Jesús “Chuy” Michel. It was handed to me along with the request that I approve the modifications to the budget”, she expressed in the session that was transmitted by the official channels of the City Council.
The mayor later claimed the envelope the councilwoman handed him was empty and legal actions would be taken against her. The envelope was not opened at the time he received it on live television and the chain of command for the envolope from City Hall to the location where it was opened, and allegedly empty, hasn’t been made public. It is worth noting that the councilwoman and the mayor are both members of the Morena political party.
The councilor said that she would not lend herself to misunderstandings and demanded that the Mayor remove his children from the municipal government, additionally, she has already filed a complaint for political violence with the Jalisco State Human Rights Commission, and she also filed a complaint with the State Anti-Corruption Prosecutor against the Mayor of Puerto Vallarta and his son Jesús Michel for the crime of bribery, and another complaint for cyber crimes against Jesús Michel and his brother Emmanuel Michel.
In addition, the councilor publicly held the Mayor and his children responsible if something were to happen to her, her daughters, her son, or her assets, since she is aware that she faces great risk and danger by denouncing the corruption that governs Puerto Vallarta.
It has been reported the councilwoman has already experienced a home robbery and a couple of suspicious car accidents, she is the only councilwoman with a security protocol and the State of Jalisco has issued her a panic button for emergencies.
