Mexico’s Attorney General Resigns Under Pressure
Juan said that the attorney general’s office has administered the prosecution of crimes
and the administration of justice to protect the friends and cronies of the president or wie
16, 2017
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s attorney general, a close ally of President Enrique Peña Nieto, resigned on Monday,
handing victory to a broad coalition of social groups that have demanded an autonomous prosecutor.
Ms. Delgadillo and a constellation of other activists have been fighting for an independent attorney general, someone who would have no political allegiance who could lead a justice ministry staffed by a professional prosecutors
and investigators using science and data to pursue cases.
It was Mr. Peña Nieto’s appointment of Mr. Cervantes, dubbed the "buddy prosecutor," and the likelihood
that he would remain in office after next year’s election, that galvanized groups as diverse as women’s rights organizations and the conservative employers federation.
Under a loophole in the law, Mr. Cervantes could have remained in office for nine years, with the ability to
protect the Institutional Revolutionary Party even if the opposition wins next year’s presidential election.
Three years ago, the Mexican Congress approved the broad outlines of an independent ministry, but the overhaul stalled after human rights and anti-corruption groups argued
that the legislation’s fine print did nothing to assure the agency’s autonomy.