Ernestina Godoy, Maribel Bojórquez and Luz María Zarza appear in the Senate

“We will not fabricate culprits and there will be no political persecution, but from now on I tell you, there will be no impunity either,” he said.

Godoy started the process to elect the new head of the Prosecutor’s Office as a favorite due to her closeness to President Claudia Sheinbaum, who chose her last year as her legal advisor.

“Mexico demands a Prosecutor’s Office that thinks, plans and acts with a strategic vision,” he told the senators.

“Mexican society sends a strong message, it does not want a distant or opaque prosecutor’s office, it wants a human, professional, honest prosecutor’s office with results,” he added.

Hours after Alejandro Gertz Manero presented a letter in which he announced his separation from the position of prosecutor, Ernestina Godoy was left in charge of the FGR’s office.

In his speech in the Senate, Godoy reiterated that justice is not negotiated in Mexico.

Maribel Bojórquez Beltrán, one of the two candidates who arrive at the Senate without the spotlight, highlighted that she has the experience, vocation and integrity necessary to lead the Attorney General’s Office.

”I am committed to ensuring that the law is applied without privileges, without discrimination and without exceptions,” she said before the plenary session. ”I know the challenges of justice administration. “I have dedicated my professional life to combating crime, both in the common jurisdiction and in the federal jurisdiction,” he added.

Beltrán said that he knows how to make the Prosecutor’s Office a more effective, humane and reliable institution.

”I have a broad overview of criminal investigations. The dynamics of crime in Mexico is complex and impunity must be combated,” he said.

The last to appear, Luz María Zarza, said that the Prosecutor’s Office is very important because it is the ”first face” that the victim sees. Therefore, he stressed that his staff must be sensitive and trained.

”It is the first link and origin of an entire judicial process. If it is not done well, then it cannot be straightened,” he told senators.

Zarza pointed out that if he remains at the head of the FGR, he will work on prioritizing issues, the gender perspective and the fight against corruption.

He also highlighted the lack of resources with which justice agencies work in Mexico. ”There is a lack of personnel in prosecutors’ offices, there are hundreds of matters that public ministries handle. “That makes it impossible to give due attention to each one,” he said.

Like President Claudia Sheinbaum, Zarza pointed out that it is important for the FGR to have good coordination with other federal bodies, such as the Ministry of Security and the Ministry of Defense.

After the appearances, the legislators will vote for one of them by means of a ballot (by placing a paper in a ballot box). Whoever obtains two-thirds of the votes of the senators present will be in charge of the FGR for the next nine years.

The profiles

Luz María Zarza Delgado. She is a lawyer with more than 30 years of experience. She was legal director of Pemex, but resigned to run in the elections for minister of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.

Maribel Bojorges Beltrán. She was a Specialized Prosecutor in Anti-Corruption Combat of the State of Mexico and general coordinator of Territorial Investigation of the Attorney General’s Office of Mexico City when Claudia Sheinbaum was head of Government.

Ernestina Godoy. She is the current office manager at the FGR. It has a story within Morena. When López Obrador was head of Government in the then Federal District, he was in the Legal Department and Legal Services of the DF as general director of Legal and Legislative Studies.

When Claudia Shienbaum was head of Government of Mexico City, Godoy held the position of attorney general of the city. Already in the current presidential term, she was Sheinbaum’s legal advisor.

Alejandro Gertz Mañero left the FGR on November 27 after reporting that he will head an embassy in “a friendly country” of Mexico.