A Mexican governor took to social media to ask people originating from his state who live in the U.S. to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in what he called an opportunity to end “a long night of racism and hate.” The governor was previously accused by a top cartel boss for exchanging money for votes in his own election.
Through a video posted on Twitter, Michoacán Governor Silvano Aureoles asked “paisanas and paisanos” in the U.S. to vote in support of Biden, claiming that President Donald Trump hates migrants.
“This November 3, the U.S. is having elections that are determining for you who live and work and have family on the other side,” Aureoles said. “You have an opportunity to choose a humanitarian government with a different approach that knows and understands the needs of migrants.”
According to Aureoles, there are more than 4 million with roots from Michoacán living in the U.S. and he called on those with voting rights to give voice to those “living in the shadows.”
“While Donald Trump builds walls to stop migrants and separates families, and promotes hate and racism against those who need to go to the other side [of the border],” Aureoles said. “At the same time, he only benefits the rich.”
In the video, Aureoles praised comments made by Biden about providing a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
“On the contrary, the candidate to replace him is pushing an agenda that carries a lot to the historic hopes and dreams of the migrant community through a naturalization program,” Aureoles said. “[Biden] has a vision for all Americans–even for those who don’t yet have papers.”
Aureoles has been a controversial figure since taking office due to the raging violence in his state where large swaths remain under the control of cartels. The escalating turf wars have led to mass kidnappings without any real response by authorities. In early 2018, Nicolas “El Gordo” Sierra, the leader of Los Viagras Cartel, claimed Aureoles paid large sums of money to cartels to generate votes.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.