The case is an accumulation of serious accusations and surrealist reactions that for the moment have remained in a crossroads of conflicting versions. The mayor of Cuauhtémoc, one of the 16 territorial demarcations of Mexico City, was denounced on February 11 by two commanders of the auxiliary police of the capital for alleged aggression. The local Prosecutor’s Office opened a folder and on Monday summoned for the second time Sandra Cuevas, an opposition politician who won the municipal elections on June 6 under the acronym of the Va por México (PRI-PAN-PRD) alliance. The change of defense requested by Cuevas, however, postponed the hearing until March 14, for which the justice system has still formally filed charges against her. These crimes, which initially included kidnapping and “deprivation of liberty”, are finally limited to “theft, abuse of authority and discrimination”. The councilor, questioned by several neighborhood groups, denounces a montage and a political persecution and this Monday afternoon she counterprogrammed the call for a protest by throwing balls with 500-peso bills from the balcony of the mayor’s office.
The ingredients of the cocktail are unusual although, in the absence of details, the story is full of chiaroscuro. It all started, according to inquiries from the Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office, less than three weeks ago. Two soldiers from the Secretariat of Citizen Security staged “a dispute” while trying to order informal commerce in the historic center, which is located in the Cuauhtémoc mayor’s office like other emblematic neighborhoods of the capital, from Condesa to Roma, Juárez or Santa María de la Ribera. These two commands, assured the prosecutor’s spokesman, Ulises Lara López, were summoned by the mayor “with the argument of discussing and working on the expansion of the surveillance service.”
“According to the first investigations on the site, the head of the demarcation and several other people were in the office where the mayor dispatches,” the official said. However, everything apparently turned into chaos in a matter of seconds. “After the interviews, it was established in the investigation that both uniformed men were attacked both verbally and physically on repeated occasions by the head of the mayor’s office as well as by several men who were there. They also indicated that they were stripped of their transmission radios and that they were deprived of their liberty on the instructions of the mayor for more than an hour in another room and were video-recorded… Finally, after beatings and shoves, both commanders were able to leave.” And finally, according to the agents’ version, Sandra Cuevas’ chief of staff urged them not to file a complaint.
Cuevas flatly rejects the accusations and, according to the mayor’s office, “assures that they are a political persecution against him.” The councilor, head-on with Morena and Claudia Sheinbaum, has tried to emphasize her dispute with the head of government. Every day, the opposition politician spreads some message on their social networks to distance themselves from the management of the capital. Last Saturday she published a photo in which she is seen reading a file sitting in a garden. “Today I took the time to review the investigation folder against me provided by the Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office, detecting multiple errors, inconsistencies and fallacies contained in official documents that leave much to be desired from an institution in charge of dispensing justice,” she wrote.
Today I took the time to review the investigation file against me provided by the @FiscaliaCDMXdetecting multiple errors, inconsistencies and fallacies contained in official documents that leave much to be desired from an institution in charge of dispensing justice. pic.twitter.com/PVIQ5k2nt8
– Sandra Cuevas (@SandraCuevas_) February 26, 2022
The mayor’s team, which has received the support of PRI, PAN and PRD leaders, affirms that “it is ready to defend itself by presenting real and forceful evidence where, in a first stage, respecting due process, it will present to all media as well as neighbors of the demarcation a timeline of what really happened on February 11 in the mayor’s building, which is supported with video evidence that will demonstrate the montage and political persecution “. The leader intends to demonstrate that “there is a lack of autonomy of the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office” and she has warned that she does not intend to request a license from her position.
The Prosecutor’s Office had already summoned Cuevas on one occasion, but she excused herself arguing health problems. The agency maintains that “from the moment the complaint was received, it has been conducted in accordance with the law, in addition to having complied with all legal procedures in order to respect due process, which was made clear when requesting an initial hearing. no detainee, no arrest warrant, in order not to violate any of the guarantees of the persons under investigation.” Meanwhile, in neighborhood chats and on social networks, criticism against the councilor is running, encouraged by followers of Morena, although not exclusively.
In October, the leader was already in the eye of the hurricane for some statements criticized for her classism. “I don’t like the poor”, she affirmed when defending “an economy of the rich”. Cuevas, 35, with professional experience in organizing events and five years of political experience, counteracted a protest mobilization on Monday with a concentration of supporters on the esplanade of the mayor’s office. Several videos show the launch of pink balls that had 500-peso bills attached to them. To questions from the newspaper Reform, the councilor assured she was limited to throwing balls from a balcony. Already at night, she boasted of her popularity in her networks. “Seeing the signs of affection that hundreds of neighbors expressed to me on the esplanade of the Cuauhtémoc demarcation, made me reflect that I should ignore the provocation, and embrace the concentration. They deserve me to work twice as hard and I will not let them down. Love, with work you pay! ”, She affirmed.
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