Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Mexico's second top scorer of all time, is done starving.
After a proposal to unseat Blanco as the mayor of Cuernavaca, Mexico was approved Thursday by the Congreso del Estado de Morelos, the idol of Club America proclaimed Friday that he was beginning an indefinite hunger strike to protest the impeachment process. Then, on Sunday, the Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion suspended the procedure, bringing an end to the hunger strike.
"After this triumph, I am lifting the hunger strike initiated last Friday," Blanco wrote on Facebook.
Ayer la @SCJN anunció que se concede suspensión solicitada por @CuernavacaGob al procedimiento de Juicio Político en mi contra pic.twitter.com/7aBFiQcu8X
— Cuauhtémoc Blanco (@CuauhtemocBco) December 18, 2016
Blanco, whose hunger strike took place at the Catedral de Cuernavaca, told Reuters that elements of the trial were baseless, adding: "What they're doing is outrageous." During the two days he went without eating, he received support and shows of solidarity from people across Mexico, including Sergio Estrada Cajigal, an ex-governor of Morelos.
Gracias por el apoyo al ex Gobernador de Morelos Sergio Estrada Cajigal, al empresario Raúl Iragorri, y a Ayudantes y policías municipales pic.twitter.com/vxpzw6u10M
— Cuauhtémoc Blanco (@CuauhtemocBco) December 18, 2016
Blanco became Cuernavaca's mayor in 2015 as a candidate for the Partido Social Democrata. Next to nobody expected him to win when he first registered his candidacy, and several unsuccessful judicial efforts were made to stop his swearing-in.
Since Blanco took office, opponents have criticised his attendance record at work as well as his experience. He repeatedly clashes with Graco Ramirez, the governor of Morelos, Mexico, the state where Cuernavaca is situated.
"He might be a good man but he is not qualified to rule," said Raul Carranca, a constitutional lawyer who filed the impeachment petition and who once alleged Blanco can't sufficiently prove his residency in Cuernavaca.
In January, one day after the murder of Gisela Mota - who had been elected as the mayor of Temixco, Mexico - Blanco said Ramirez will be to blame if he is killed by an organised crime group. The comment came after Blanco opted against including Cuernavaca as part of Mando Unico, the governor's security plan which allows state police into the municipality. According to teleSUR, nearly 100 mayors have been targeted for assassination since 2006.
Cuernavaca is a colonial city with a population of 350,000. It was once a place that attracted local and foreign tourists, but the conflict between organised crime groups and Morelos' government means its tourist industry is suffering.
