Residents of a Oaxaca community rebelled this week and locked up the mayor on suspicion of corruption.
César Augusto Matus remained confined to the municipal jail in San Francisco Ixhuatán today, accused of embezzling 3 million pesos (US $160,000) since 2016.
His accusers, residents of El Morrito, also seized his personal vehicles and called on state officials to conduct an audit.
They claim the mayor hired a contractor friend to carry out public works projects in order to inflate the costs.
But his wife defended him by explaining that the funds allocated for the projects had never been delivered by the state.
After Matus was seized and jailed yesterday, state officials attempted to mediate a solution. Citizens of El Morrito said they had a contractor lined up to do the work and wanted the state to come up with 1 million pesos to pay for it.
But when government officials explained they needed to confirm whether the contractor was authorized to do the work the citizens’ anger turned to fury. They ended the meeting and returned the mayor to his cell.
