On 8 January state legislators in Mexico City (CDMX) voted against ratifying Ernestina Godoy to serve a second term as head of the capital’s attorney general’s office (FGJCDMX).
Analysis:
Tensions have been running high around Godoy’s bid to continue as attorney general (AG) in CDMX, a position she has held since 2018. Godoy is affiliated with the federally-ruling Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (Morena) which, together with its allies, holds 33 seats in the CDMX congress – short of the 44 votes needed for ratification. Opposition legislators denounced a lack of transparency in the ratification process and stressed the need for political autonomy in the role, while Morena has accused the opposition of wanting Godoy out due to corruption investigations she was leading.
- CDMX congress voted by 41 votes in favour and 25 against Godoy’s ratification, falling three votes short of the required supermajority.
- Morena figures including CDMX mayor Martí Batres and federal interior minister, Luisa Alcalde, have stated the opposition voted against Godoy as she was investigating a retail corruption network implicating the right-wing opposition Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) and a human trafficking ring linked to the centrist opposition Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI).
- Xóchitl Gálvez, the 2024 presidential candidate for the main opposition coalition, Fuerza y Corazón por México, celebrated the vote, stating that, “the imparting of justice in Mexico has to continue being autonomous, not an instrument of political persecution.”
- The opposition has accused Morena of threatening deputies to vote in its favour. Local PRI deputy Guadalupe Barrón claimed she had received death threats on 8 January after her vehicle was shot outside her home. She said this was due to her intentions to vote against Godoy. The FGJCDMX said it had opened an investigation into the attack but denied using “threats or aggressions to intimidate any legislator”.
- The run-up to the vote was fraught with controversy for Godoy, following a report published in The New York Times in November claiming her office had engaged in spying activities. On 5 January, Mexican investigative news website Latinus published a report claiming Godoy had plagiarised her law thesis. Godoy has denied all accusations.
Looking Ahead: Godoy’s number two, Oliver Ariel Pilares Viloria, will take over as AG until a new one is named. The citizen judicial council must present a three-candidate shortlist to the head of CDMX government, which will present its pick to the state congress.