Suspended Cuauhtémoc Mayor Sandra Cuevas. Photo: Google

By THE PULSE NEWS MEXICO STAFF

With the suspension Monday, March 14, of Sandra Cuevas, head of the Cuauhtémoc Delegation of Mexico City, there is now a void in the leadership of one of the Mexican capital’s oldest and most-historic precincts.

Cuevas, the “mayor” of Cuauhtémoc, was ordered to relinquish her post on Monday by a Mexico City judge, after she allegedly illegally detained two police officers on Feb. 11.

Last week, the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) issued an arrest warrant for Cuevas for the alleged crimes of qualified robbery, discrimination and abuse of authority.

The complaint was filed by the police officers from the Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC) in the capital, who accused her of physical and verbal attacks, as well as illegal deprivation of liberty, although in the end the latter charge was not filed.

Consequently, a judge ordered a precautionary suspension of her duties that will remain in force until the legal situation of the alleged crimes are resolved.

Article 67 of the Organic Law of Mexico City Mayors states that in the event of a definitive license or absolute absence of the mayor during the first two years of term, the capital city’s congress must elect an interim mayor who is to be proposed, in this case, by the head of the city’s government, Claudia Sheinbaum.

Afterwards, the congress must request the city’s Electoral Institute, within a period of 10 days, to call for the election of the mayor.

However, since Cuevas’ suspension is temporary, the fate of the precinct’s mayorship remains in limbo.

Meanwhile, Cuevas has claimed that the charges by the police officers were trumped up and are part of a political conspiracy to have her removed since she is a member of the opposition to Sheinbaum’s leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party.

Sheinbaum is a close ally of Morena founder, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), and is seen as his favorite candidate to replace him in the 2024 presidential elections.

Both Sheinbaum and López Obrador have denied that there is any political plot against Cuevas.

Cuevas responded by saying that the capital city’s prosecutor’s office is persecuting her unfairly and that she is ready to defend herself with “compelling evidence” during her trial.