This Tuesday, the Secretary of Housing, Inti Muñoz, and the mayor held separate press conferences, adding another chapter to a dispute that promises to deepen. Initially, Rojo de Vega presented new documents showing that her administration requested that central authorities verify six of the 17 properties under demolition in her jurisdiction under the 'facilities agreement' scheme, the same situation as the building that collapsed in the Tránsito neighborhood last week, which caused the death of three people. The Secretary of Housing, Inti Muñoz, stated that it is the municipalities' responsibility to oversee that demolitions are carried out with proper procedures and protections to prevent harm to third parties. 'The Government of Mexico City has acted in strict compliance with the law, fulfilling all legal and administrative procedures it is obligated to,' he added. With these cross-statements, both governments protagonized a new chapter in the tense relationship between the government led by Clara Brugada and the mayor of Cuauhtémoc, Alessandra Rojo de Vega. 'The supervision and verification of demolitions and constructions correspond to the municipalities, with or without facilities agreements,' she added and explained that such agreements 'do not grant permits' but function as a mechanism to expedite reconstruction-related works after 2017. 'Only the city government can verify those works,' declared the mayor. Despite national tensions, the PT reaffirms unity with Morena in CDMX. As detailed by LPO, the collapse of the building located at San Antonio Abad 124 revived the controversy and polarization between the government led by Clara Brugada and the Cuauhtémoc mayorship. 'They authorized it, they had the obligation to supervise it, and they had to guarantee safety,' she added, detailing that her administration denied demolition requests for lacking necessary safety measures, but it was later approved by the Secretary of Housing. Following this, the head of said department, Inti Muñoz, targeted the mayor by stating that 'the law is not made to be interpreted at will, but to be complied with.' In a press conference, Rojo de Vega reiterated that those permits were granted by the Old City Hall. 'These facilities are the exemption from some payment fees and some secondary procedures,' she elaborated. Brugada backed AMLO's announcement and will donate to help Cuba. 'The supervision and verification of demolitions and constructions correspond to the municipalities, with or without facilities agreements,' Inti Muñoz went on to say, citing as an example that on December 9th, the municipality supervised a work of this type at number 11 on Avenida México, in the Condesa Hipódromo neighborhood. The government of CDMX, led by Clara Brugada, and the mayor of Cuauhtémoc, Alessandra Rojo de Vega, continue to exchange accusations over the administrative and legal responsibilities of the collapse that caused the death of three people on Calzada de Tlalpan. Likewise, it does not seem that this will end soon, considering, for example, that the 2027 elections are approaching, where the mayor will seek re-election, and the 2030 elections, where the opposing politician could jump to compete for the Head of Government position itself. Meanwhile, Rojo de Vega maintained that in this case the work fell under the jurisdiction of said department, as it was a property damaged by the 2017 earthquake and had been studied since 2018 by the CDMX Reconstruction Commission. Throughout last week, both administrations crossed accusations and mutual complaints to determine which of the two is responsible for the three deaths left by the collapse in the Tránsito neighborhood. According to her explanation, this was due to the 'facilities agreement' that the property owners had reached with the Secretary of Housing through an agreement with the Reconstruction Commission. This Tuesday, the Secretary of Housing, Inti Muñoz, responded to the accusations made by Mayor Alessandra Rojo de Vega. According to the mayor, this 'facilities agreement' received by the property company allows, among other things, 'to carry out demolitions without meeting some requirements, such as having a civil protection program.' This Tuesday, they added a new chapter to the dispute.
