After the arrival of the new prosecutor, the autonomy of the FGR is (again) tested

Demonstrate the distance with Power

Gertz Manero’s management was marked by several scandals, including being accused of influence peddling and coalition of public servants by the former legal advisor to the Presidency, Julio Scherer Ibarra; for a persecution against Alejandra Cuevas, wife of his brother Federico Gertz Manero, among others and because his administration was characterized by being close to power and far from the victims.

“There was a very big setback in the Prosecutor’s Office. It was not autonomous at all and now I believe that we had an opportunity to recover the Prosecutor’s Office so that it was close to the victims,” ​​adds Marisol Méndez, Advocacy coordinator at the Foundation for Justice (FJEDD).

Gertz’s “indifference” to the victims is even represented in numbers. Susana Camacho explains that in disappearances, one of the rising crimes, there was no conviction.

“Cases of disappearance, very few were brought to the federal scene and at least 2023 of responses, the requests for information made to México Evalúa, 100% of the sentences obtained by the prosecution were acquittal: 100%,” he points out in an interview.

Cristina Reyes, director of Strategic Litigation at the organization México Unidos Contra la Delincuencia, explains that autonomy in the institution must be shown like this: remoteness from Power.

“The most important thing and what we would have to continue fighting for is for the autonomy of the Prosecutor’s Office from political power, that is, that its main purpose be the clarification of the facts and the prosecution of crimes in an impartial manner and not following a political line or interests of those in power,” he highlights.

The seriousness of a prosecutor’s office not being autonomous is that the administration of justice remains in the hands of political interests.

“There will be no guilt nor impunity”

In his appearance Godoy Ramos assured that the FGR will not fabricate culprits nor will there be political persecution, however he emphasized that “there will be no impunity either.” This generated applause and even whistles from Morena and allies.

He also clarified that whoever has committed a crime will be pursued, prosecuted and sentenced; while, whoever has been a victim will be protected, defended and the damage will be repaired.

“No one will be accused unjustly, because in the administration of justice there is no room for partial actions or actions with political overtones,” he said.

When Ernestina Godoy sought ratification as prosecutor of Mexico City in 2024, opposition parties accused her of using the institution for the purposes of political persecution.

As a prosecutor in the capital, there were accusations against him ranging from espionage to re-victimization and political use of justice. In 2023, he faced criticism after publishing a report by The New York Times which revealed that the capital’s Prosecutor’s Office asked Telcel to hand over call records, messages and location data of politicians from both the opposition and Morena.

Among them, Santiago Taboada, former opposition candidate for the Head of Government; PAN senator Lilly Téllez; and the Morenistas Higinio Martínez and Horacio Duarte. Telcel acknowledged before a judge that it had provided the data, although Godoy denied that the information in the report was accurate.

With Godoy at the head of the CDMX Prosecutor’s Office, several investigation files were also undertaken for alleged real estate corruption in the Benito Juárez mayor’s office, involving PAN officials and businessmen.

The most notable case is that of former delegation head Christian Von Roehrich, arrested in April 2023 and later linked to proceedings. Santiago Taboada was also implicated, who accused Godoy of being a “carnal prosecutor” and of persecuting him politically on the instructions of Claudia Sheinbaum, then head of the capital’s government.

This Wednesday, Ernestina Godoy affirmed that the appointment is not an award, but a mandate, as she said that the urgent demand is to build a Prosecutor’s Office where the victims are put at the center, in addition to acting intelligently to regain citizen trust.

The new prosecutor will be in office for nine years, during which time it will be demonstrated whether she managed to defend autonomy.