“La Alianza”- An Illegal Electoral Scheme Under – By Gregorio Igartua De La Rosa

“La Alianza”- An Illegal Electoral Scheme Under

State and Federal Law

The newly announced agreement between the Pro Independence and Victoria Cuidadana
Parties to support each others candidates, by switching their votes from one Party to that of the
other, is a conspiracy cooked in the eyes of federal and state governments to defraud the electoral
laws through false representation. The scheme is not limited to the top electoral positions, but
includes candidates at different lower political levels. Consider the MVC voting for PIP’s
Dalmau in exchange for his Party voting for MVC’S candidate for Resident Commissioner, Ana
I. Rivera Lassen.
The leaders of both parties alleged that this is legally constitutional under the veil of First
Amendment Rights, (U.S. Const. Amend. I). It is not a mere free expression by candidates. It is
a violation of the equal protection of the laws and due process rights under the U.S. Constitution
(Amend XIV), and under the Puerto Rico Constitution (Art. II-7). In considering the political
damage to the candidates of other parties not conspiring, the equal protection of the laws and due
process rights are affected in the outcome of the election, by the illegal agreement of the PIP and
MVC leaders. Moreover, there is a violation of the public funds assigned to the parties involved,
another scheme to defraud the Election Law by their interest to retain the franchise, each as an
independent recipient of the state funds, and by false representation of the electoral conspiracy
with a quid pro quo agreement. In short, it is a political financial advantage over the other
parties.
Manuel Natal confirmed publicly the MVC Party had agreed with the Pro Independence
Party leaders to vote across party lines in the 2024 elections. Dalmau said, that it was an
agreement to end more than fifty years of bipartisan politics in Puerto Rico. He forgot to say, that
in our system either you do it under the law, or don’t do it.

The conspiracy attempts to defraud our democratic system by manipulating the votes of
the electorate, by including voting under a scheme where the support of some candidates in one
party is exchanged for the other, and viceversa, is a federal violation.
Citizens are legally allowed to vote by what is known as mixed vote, whereby an elector
votes for candidates of different parties in the same ballot in the same election. Notwithstanding,
an agreement between leaders of two Parties to induce their members to mixed voting in the
same ballots for a candidate to one position in exchange for the vote to a candidate of the other
Party is illegal. It is an agreement to attempt to gain advantage for each other party candidates by
defrauding the electoral process, and worst if each receives public funds. Consider as illegal the
exchange of MVC voting for PIP’s President Dalmau for governor, and for the PIP’s voting for
the MVC Resident Commissioner candidate, or MVC not registering candidates to some
positions to support PIP’s candidates for these, and vice versa. Moreover, it is prohibited under
federal voting laws. The federal laws forbids and prevents systemic electoral manipulation to
create political duopoly.
Under federal law damages are provided for cases where two or more persons have
conspired to deprive any person of the equal protection of the laws, or of the equal privileges and
immunities of the laws. In the “Alianza”, the conspirators of the PIP and the MVC Parties
defraud the electoral process and provoke damages to the candidates of the other Parties not part
of the conspiracy of the political scheme. In these context the PNP, PPD and MD candidates for
Governor are affected with damages by the conspiracy of the PIP and MVC Parties to vote for
Dalmau, as well as candidates at other levels. The evidence of the conspiracy can be found, and
is supported, by the public announcements that the leaders of both parties have communicated,
and as informed in the Press.

Gregorio Igartua De La Rosa
November 21, 2023