Questions arise from alleged inconsistencies regarding Yucatán’s emergency COVID-19 food program.
The program handed out nearly 2.5 million packages containing foodstuffs and other everyday necessities to families in need across the state.
There are concerns that the companies who sold the food to the government have close ties to Yucatán Gov. Mauricio Vila Dosal.
“We have certainly seen numbers that don’t seem to add up, it is very concerning,” said Francisco Torres Rivas, President of the PRI in Yucatán.
Earlier: Delivering 3,879 packages of food was just the beginning for Yucatan Giving Outreach
Contracts were awarded directly by the state government, using an emergency procurement clause that does not require companies to compete in order to supply the state.
Critics say that the nearly 500 million MXP price tag of the relief project was inflated to favor private companies and that many families did not receive all of the packages which were allotted to them, claims a report by the Diario de Yucatán.
The packages included items such as a can of tuna, pasta, soap, vegetable oil, and toilet paper. Each package is reported to have cost the government just over 200 MXP.
Government officials hand out emergency relief food packages during COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: File
