Mexico City, June 20 (IANS/EFE) Mexican television aired Wednesday a video showing Cancun Mayor Julian Ricalde Magaña accepting cash-filled envelopes.
The images surfaced less than three weeks ahead of the July 7 mayoral election in the Caribbean resort city.
Ricalde is barred from seeking a second consecutive term, but his PRD party does have a candidate in the race.
On the video, which dates from 2010, then-mayor-elect Ricalde accepts the money from Jaime Hernandez - the interim mayor - in a city hall office.
"The video shows an image where Jaime Hernandez is delivering to me three envelopes with 50,000 pesos ($3,845). There is 150,000 (pesos), but they subtitled it and took it out of context to make it look like something else," Ricalde said Wednesday via Cancun Radio.
The cash was for the mayoral transition and the entire matter "is an issue we have already aired", Ricalde said.
"There is no impropriety, I wasn't a public official. The municipal president (mayor) is the official, it is he who is granting me this resource," he added.
"Ultimately, you would have to ask him (Hernandez), ask him why he filmed himself giving me money," Ricalde said.
--IANS/EFE
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