“That is not terrorism”: Sheinbaum corrects the official state version
President Claudia Sheinbaum came out. Faced with the statement by the Secretary of Government of Guanajuato, Jorge Jiménez Lona, that 18 detainees would be accused of terrorism, she was clear and sharp. According to the code, it doesn’t add up.
“No, that is not terrorism. I don’t know what the assessment of the Secretary of Government of Guanajuato is, but it is perfectly determined in the federal criminal codes… another thing is interruption of communication routes, damage to other people’s property,” said the head of the Executive.
There you have it. While a state official talks about a serious and media crime, the president lowers the tone to administrative errors. Traffic disruption, damage. Nothing to do with attacking the order of the State.
The conflict arises after the confrontations after the downing of “El Mencho”. Of 48 detainees, Guanajuato authorities indicated that 18 would face charges of terrorism. Sheinbaum, with his legal training, dismantles the accusation by citing national codes.
Local error of judgment or strategy to avoid inflaming the situation? The difference between both speeches is abysmal. One side paints a scenario of war against the state; the other, street riots.
The truth is that the legal definition is narrow. And the president seems determined to apply it to the letter, even if that means contradicting her own party at the state level. Memory is long: labeling something ‘terrorism’ has brutal political and criminal consequences.
For now, those arrested will face minor charges. But the question remains: why such a public discrepancy between two levels of the same government?
