by Kelly Simmons and Ana Maria Ruiz-Brown
Controversy regarding Ciudad Juarez' Chief of Police, Jose Luis Reygadas Seyffert, has dominated newspaper headlines during the months of March and April. During March, much of the reports concerned an associate in the Police Department, Martin Torres del Campo, who was accused of being an informant for the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as well as allegations that there was a "shadow police force"operating in Juarez. In addition, parent and other citizen groups have protested vigorously over what they have alleged were shoddy investigative efforts by the police department in the kidnapping and murder of several young children. Criticism has also been leveled at the department for human rights abuses of accused criminals as well as the numerous assassinations that have plagued the city recently.
Reygadas, a member of the PAN, was appointed to the Chief of Police position by PAN Mayor Galindo while Reygadas was serving as an elected Town Councilor, adding to the accusations of politics. In order to serve in both capacities, Reygadas has sought 6 month "licencias" or special permissions from the Council to continue as Chief of Police.
In early April, the controversy reached a crescendo when 5 councilors in the Juarez town council (Cabildo) announced they would vote against Reygadas continuing as the Chief of Police. Councilors who oppose Reygadas as Police Chief have accused him of violating the Law of Responsibilities for Public Officials by occupying two positions. In an apparent response, Reygadas announced he was resigning his elected position as a councilor, and would substitute Daniel Torres in his place. The Cabildo refused Reygadas' resignation on a vote of 10 to 6, stating his resignation was not legal since the position was elected, and rejected Daniel Torres as a replacement. Councilors accused of Reygadas of resigning in order to retain his position as Chief of Police and 8 of them announced they would seek the intervention of the State Legislature to censure both Mayor Galindo and Reygadas. According to paragraph 3 of Article 6 in the Electoral Law, councilors pointed out, citizens are obligated to perform the duties to which they were elected and both Reygadas and Galindo were violating this provision.
There are 18 members of the Juarez Town Council including Galindo and Reygadas. 10 Juarez councilors are members of the PAN or Panistas, 5 are members of the PRI or Priistas, and three are members of minority parties such as the PRD and the PT.
Meanwhile, Mayor Galindo continued to support Reygadas as the city's Chief of Police, claiming that he was doing a good job and that crime was decreasing throughout the city. He also noted that Reygadas was "a man who has done his best" and his resignation was being questioned out of political motivations. On April 8th, Galindo announced that in January there were 53 armed robberies to businesses, in February there were 56 and in March only 34 which showed a substantial decrease. He added that this is the lowest number in 3 years since in March of 1995 there were 64 and in March of 1996 there were 84 armed robberies.
Unexpectedly, the controversy has not broken down cleanly along party lines between the PRI and the PAN on the Cabildo. Two female PAN councilors, who have been vocal in their criticisms of Panista Mayor Galindo, joined the PRI councilors in opposing the Mayor's choice for Police Chief along with a PRD Councilor and a Green Party Councilor. In addition, the Juarez PAN coordinator, Aguilar Camargo, told El Norte that those elected to positions cannot resign and that Reygadas should not continue infringing on the law with "duplicity of functions." A PAN legislator, Carlos Aguilar, was also quoted in an El Norte report as saying he considered the Reygadas case a "joke" for Juarez citizens since Reygadas had resigned in order to remain Chief of Police.
On April 18, a Council vote was taken regarding Reygadas' resignation and in a rare move, Mayor Galindo used two votes available to Mayors to break a tie and the resignation was accepted. In response, 9 council members left the meeting in protest.
Sources: Diario de Juarez, El Norte