President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo made it clear that she is not for improvised responses. When they asked him about the license requested by the governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha—singled by the United States for having ties to drug trafficking—he blurted out: “On Monday morning.” End of topic. As if the clock set the tone for official truth.
She arrived at the Information Assembly of the Gertrudis Bocanegra Scholarship in Palenque, and the microphones followed her. “Did you recommend that he ask for leave?” they insisted. Nothing. Just that reminder that morning conferences are the only setting where she blurts out the version that suits her. “Is there security in the state?” others asked. Silence. He left like someone dodging a blank bullet.
Meanwhile, in Culiacán, the Sinaloa Congress—dominated by Morena—approved Rocha’s license in less than five minutes. Fast track. No debate. Unanimously. The governor had launched his request the night before on social networks, like someone asking for permission to go to the bathroom. The move is clear: separate himself from the position so that he can be investigated without the weight of the position. But the timing smacks of a damage control strategy.
“The governor of Sinaloa asked for leave. Did you recommend that he ask for leave?” asked a reporter.
“Monday morning,” Sheinbaum responded.
History has memory. When a governor asks for leave like this, quickly and quietly, it is normally because the floor is moving. And here the earthquake comes from the north: the DEA pointed out Rocha for links to the Sinaloa Cartel. Sheinbaum, an expert in dodging bullets, prefers to wait until Monday. But Monday, as always, will bring more questions than answers.
