Carolina González, a Lambaré councilor who is under investigation for money laundering and other crimes, announced an electoral alliance on May 15, less than a month before the municipal internal elections scheduled for June 7. González, who is the wife of former deputy Orlando Arévalo—implicated in the chat scandal with Eulalio “Lalo” Gomes and forced to resign—said that mayoral candidate Cynthia Santacruz had declined her candidacy in favor of González, according to ABC Color.
“After a broad and fruitful dialogue with Cynthia Santacruz, pre-candidate for mayor on List 300, we agreed that there is a superior objective above any personal aspiration: to clean up Lambaré and return it to the course our city deserves,” González posted on social media. She added that Fuerza Republicana, the movement led by former vice president Hugo Velázquez, values Santacruz’s decision to step aside. However, ABC Color notes that González’s tenure as councilor has been highly questioned.
González and her husband, Orlando Arévalo, were longtime members of the Colorado Party’s cartista faction. After failing to secure support there, they moved to Fuerza Republicana. Santacruz announced her withdrawal on May 13, after the deadline for substitutions set by the Superior Electoral Court, so her name will still appear on the ballot for the June 7 primaries. According to ABC Color, Santacruz had little electoral traction, and her decline may have been in exchange for a political position.
The article also notes that Santacruz’s official photo on the voting machine looks very different from the filtered image posted by González, drawing comparisons to former senator Norma Aquino “Yamy Nal,” who used a heavily edited photo and later switched parties after being elected.