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| Herminia Becerra, Queen of the Politiqueras "No one gets elected unless I say so!" |
Herminia Becerra, the aunt of former Cameron County Democratic Party Chairperson, Sylvia Garza-Perez, is an unapologetic politiquera. As she told us last year, sitting next to Margarita Ozuna at the Abelardo Gomez campaign tent: "No one gets elected in Cameron County unless I say so! It's been that way for 50 years."
Unlike her counterparts, Margarita Ozuna and Sonia Solis, Ms. Becerra has yet to be prosecuted for voter fraud. Interestingly, a chart of her neighborhood surrounding her home at rundown Western Blvd. shows that most of her neighbors vote by mail, historically the primary way politiqueras deliver the votes to certain candidates.
Below is a sample of the research done by Laura Miniel, showing the extremely heavy concentration of mail-in votes in Becerra's neighborhood. The designation on the right, "EVBM," means Early Vote by Mail:
Sometimes the candidates who use politiqueras becomes obvious by the number of mail-in votes they receive. Notice the following breakdown from the 2012 county primary election:
Cameron County Democratic Primary~5/29/12
Name Total Votes % Mail-in Votes
COUNTY ATTORNEY
Carlos R. Masso 8,072 35.86 192
Luis V. Saenz 7,766 34.50 47
Maria Urbina De Ford 6,672 29.64 33
SHERIFF
Joe Cisneros 6,107 26.02 55
Terry Vinson 3,268 13.92 25
Omar Lucio 14,096 60.06 191
CONSTABLE, PRECINCT 2
Juan S. Torres 2,348 27.45 13
Roel Arreola 893 8.54 7
Pete Avila, Jr. 3,952 37.78 27
Abelardo "Abel" Gomez, Jr. 3,267 31.23 191
When I showed these election results to then Election Administrator Roger Ortiz, with three candidates in very different races, with different vote totals, all getting nearly exactly the same number of mail-in votes, he remarked: "Well, it looks like three candidates used the same politiquera or group of politiqueras."
Omar Lucio 14,096 60.06 191
CONSTABLE, PRECINCT 2
Juan S. Torres 2,348 27.45 13
Roel Arreola 893 8.54 7
Pete Avila, Jr. 3,952 37.78 27
Abelardo "Abel" Gomez, Jr. 3,267 31.23 191
When I showed these election results to then Election Administrator Roger Ortiz, with three candidates in very different races, with different vote totals, all getting nearly exactly the same number of mail-in votes, he remarked: "Well, it looks like three candidates used the same politiquera or group of politiqueras."
If Brownsville had its own currency, I would "vote" to put a politiquera's face on the five dollar bill, because that is about what a vote is worth in these parts. The politiquera is the face of a content soul, blissful in their abject ignorance. They are not stupid, far from it. They are the classic border coyote, always vigilant for an easy buck by co-opting the system. You can call it nepotism, personalism, or whatever, but it all boils down to corrupt government. Until the system is eradicated, like a toxic weed, no reforms will come to fruition. The only thing worse that a politiquera is the swine that pay them.
ReplyDeleteYea, I have heard them all doing that "$10 mantra". It always sounded like BEDC's "$10/hr jobs". Total bullshit and when the do get some stupid politician to believe it, they pocket the difference.
DeleteMean Mister Brownsville why is that when you mention Herminia you have to mention Sylvia ? Herminia doesn't like Sylvia, they have disliked each other for almost two decades . Jared H was trying to use the " Aunt Herminia " against Sylvia for Democrat Chair and we all know how that ended . The Cyber politicos are Brownsville ' s new problem . They spread rumors and attack candidates that don't play ball with them.Hail Mean Mister Brownsville the Queen of Cyber Politicos !
ReplyDeleteP.s. Juan Montoya is the King
What were the numbers for her niece when she was elected? I wonder what the votes will look like this time around for Sylvia?
ReplyDeleteOld story and statistics. Tell me something I don't know. LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteDags.
Sylvia won without a runoff against Jared and Shergold in 2012 for democratic chair by the citizens of Cameron County. She is very popular.
ReplyDeleteBut she is wearing a Saenz shirt...were those 47 mail ins from her neighborhood?
ReplyDeleteshe asked for the t shirt after she realized her goose was cooked backing Masso. So what about Abelardo Gomez in this mess? He hired a relative shortly after he moved into office. He has controlled these politiqueras along with his cousins for years.
DeleteShe flipped on Masso and helped Saenz. The question is, did he pay her more than Masso?
Delete