By Diego Oré MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican Attorney General Alejandro Gertz has submitted his resignation, two government sources told Reuters on Thursday. The resignation of the 86-year-old lawyer has been the subject of speculation amid scrutiny of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government over security issues. Sheinbaum earlier on Thursday at her daily news conference, in response […]
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Mexican Attorney General Gertz submits resignation, government sources say
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By Diego Oré
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican Attorney General Alejandro Gertz has submitted his resignation, two government sources told Reuters on Thursday.
The resignation of the 86-year-old lawyer has been the subject of speculation amid scrutiny of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government over security issues. Sheinbaum earlier on Thursday at her daily news conference, in response to a question, said she had received a letter from the Senate regarding Gertz’s possible resignation, was reviewing it, and would provide an update on Friday.
“I received a document from the Senate that I’m analyzing,” Sheinbaum said.
The high-profile murder in early November of Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan, a city in the violence-ravaged state of Michoacan, has heightened the scrutiny of government security issues.
Gertz’s resignation must be approved by the Mexican Senate. Gertz, who has served as attorney general since 2019, was originally appointed for a nine-year term set to run until 2028.
Once Gertz’s resignation is approved, Sheinbaum would submit three candidates for attorney general to the Senate, which would then appoint a successor via a two-thirds majority vote.
Local media outlets have mentioned Ernestina Godoy, the former Mexico City attorney general and current legal adviser to the president, as a possible successor to Gertz.
The government has not commented on who might be the next attorney general.
(Reporting by Diego Ore; Writing by Natalia Siniawski; editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Leslie Adler)