Electoral Reform/Morán-Cuevas Case Resolved

COVID-19 infections decrease. Deputy Minister of Health Hugo López-Gatell announced that for the ninth consecutive week, COVID-19 contagions have dropped throughout the country. In addition, López-Gatell said COVID-19 health units throughout the country are practically empty. “We now have nine consecutive weeks where number of infected people, as well as hospitalized patients has decreased. We do not discard the possibility of a new COVID-19 wave, but for now, this is good news.”

The Ministry of Health reported that 11 deaths and 675 infections were registered yesterday, bringing the total number of infections to 5,651,553 and death toll stands at 322,761. Regarding vaccinations, the Ministry reported that 190,441,475 million doses have been administered and approximately 85,575,818 million people have been vaccinated, representing 87 percent of Mexico´s adult population.

AMLO says there was no shooting at the Cancun airport. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador reported there was no shooting at the Cancun International Airport and stressed that what happened is that some billboards fell “The media first said it was a shooting and then an explosion.  And when people inside the airport checked the news, they freaked out. "

Yesterday, Quintana Roo's authorities ruled out a shooting at the Cancun Airport after the Ministry of Public Security received calls about detonations in Terminal 3. After the call, operations were suspended to protect passengers but were renewed once it was confirmed that there was no risk to passengers. The first investigations indicated that there was confusion due to the sound when three billboards fell, weighing around 50 kilos each.

Electoral reform will be promoted. López Obrador announced that he will promote the electoral reform once the mandate revocation consultation is over since he wants to further consolidate the country’s democracy. “After April 10 we are going to send a constitutional reform initiative to guarantee democracy in Mexico so that there are no longer judges, councilors and magistrates who do not have a democratic vocation. We also want Mexicans to elect officials through a free and secret vote without fraud."

Since López Obrador took office in 2018, he has insisted on the need to remove corruption from the National Electoral Institute (INE) and the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Power of the Federation (TEPJF) to transform them into true autonomous and democratic institutions. López Obrador said that since the current electoral bodies have failed in their democratic duties, he will send a proposal to Congress to change its members and configuration.

Laura Morán and Alejandra Cuevas are released from murder charges. López Obrador celebrated the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) to release Alejandra Cuevas and cancel the arrest warrant against Laura Morán. “I celebrate this decision. I believe that the best way to deal with controversies and problems is through the Court, since we adjust to the legal framework and a true rule of law prevails.”

Yesterday, the SCJN gave an amparo to Morán and her daughter Cuevas, who were held responsible by the Attorney General of the Republic Alejandro Gertz for the death of his brother Federico Gertz. According to Gertz, since Morán was a partner of his brother, she and her daughter were responsible for his death since they did not take proper care of his health. The resolution of the SCJN comes after Cuevas was detained in the Santa Martha Acatitla women's prison for more than a year and several people accused Gertz of abuse of power and carrying out unconstitutional actions.