Complaint over turkey hand-out filed with Supreme Court

THE GROWING criticism of the annual distribution of largesse in the shape of hams and turkeys by El Chorrillo Deputy Sergio Gálvez, took a new turn on Wednesday December 26 with the filing of a complaint in the Supreme Court.

Carlos Rubio, a member of the youth wing of the Partido Popular, filed a complaint alleging that the deputy, who is also the president of the National Assembly, used resources of the state for political purposes. Rubio said that "there is evidence" that Gálvez has used public funds to promote his re-election.

"We have documents that are in the hands of the Comptroller indicating that Sergio Gálvez received money from the state for the purchase of hams that were used to alter the popular will of the voters," he said.
In the view of Rubio, the problem is not in distributing the hams to citizens, but rather in placing the image of Gálvez on the bags that they are distributed in.
Galvez has denied that state resources were used for the purchase of the Christmas products, saying the money came from "fundraising and donations from my party.