Interior Minister Olga Sánchez Cordero has accused the governor of Michoacán of violating the state and federal constitutions by calling for Mexican migrants in the United States to vote against President Donald Trump in Tuesday’s election.

In a letter to Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero, Sánchez accused Governor Silvano Aureoles of committing “constitutional crimes.”

“Meddling in the way that you do in the internal affairs of another country, in an external electoral process, conducting foreign policy when it does not correspond to you, makes you involved, in my opinion, in constitutional crimes,” she said.

The reprimand comes after Aureoles uploaded a video to social media in which he called on the migrant population in the United States to vote for a change and reminded them that four years ago Trump called Mexicans criminals and drug traffickers.

“On this occasion, the Mexican votes in the United States can give meaning to the necessary change and put in place a president who understands our struggles, respects our culture and identifies with our causes,” he said.

Sánchez said those words violate the constitutional principle of respect and self-determination. “It places the Mexican state in a very delicate situation in terms of foreign policy.”

Aureoles countered that Mexico owes respect to those who respect it, not those who offend and attack it.

“I want to tell you that the statement I made is the result of my deep concern for the more than 4 million Michoacán citizens living in the U.S.,” he posted on Twitter. 

“I remind you that … our countrymen have been mistreated, offended and their rights attacked by Donald Trump since he was a candidate in the previous elections,” Aureoles said.

Source: Reforma (sp)