“There were no prior indications,” says Sheinbaum about the detained mayor
The scene is worthy of a political script: a sitting mayor, from your own party, is arrested for alleged links to the crime. And there is President Claudia Sheinbaum, in the morning in Morelia, having to explain the inexplicable.
How is it possible that Morena nominated someone like that? That was the question on everyone’s mind. Sheinbaum’s response was direct: they followed protocol.
“The response was negative in all cases. There was no investigation file or any evidence”
Let me explain. According to the president, before the candidacies, Morena requested official information from the Attorney General’s Office and the state companies about all of her candidates. Deputies, municipal presidents, governors… the complete package.
The official version they received was clear: there was nothing against Diego Rivera Navarro, the now detained mayor of Tequila, Jalisco. No open investigation. Zero alerts.
Here comes the dramatic point. Sheinbaum poses it almost as a question of institutional honor: What other mechanism could they use? If the prosecutors – the competent authorities – say there is no problem, on what basis could they reject a candidacy?
“It would be bad if once you know, you don’t act”
This phrase is key. For her, the truly serious thing would have been if, once the complaints appeared and the evidence was gathered, the authorities turned a blind eye. But they acted. They investigated. And they stopped.
The final message is forceful: the federal government acts in accordance with the law. When there are elements, we proceed. Regardless of partisan colors.
But between the lines, the question hangs in the air like a bad feeling: were there really no rumors? Any shadow on this character before he became mayor?
In Mexican political theater, this act has all the ingredients of drama: partisan loyalties put to the test, institutional mechanisms questioned and that uncomfortable feeling that maybe – just maybe – someone was not looking where they should.
