Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum and Morena, Mexico’s most powerful party, have shifted their stance on the role of organized crime, breaking with former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s “hugs, not bullets” rhetoric. Amid the controversy surrounding US President Donald Trump’s insistence that drug cartels control Mexican territory, a member of Morena has added fuel to the fire. Adriana Marín, communications director for the party’s representatives in the Mexico City Congress, acknowledged in an interview that eradicating organized crime is complex because drug trafficking creates between 160,000 and 185,000 jobs annually, positions “that the private sector and the government have failed to generate.” The mayor and the political group have moved quickly to extinguish the fire ignited by one of their own. “The statements made by this young woman are very unfortunate,” the Mexican president declared this Friday during her morning press conference, also refuting the figures.
The presidential condemnation came two days after the statements made by the Morena party member were made public and have since reached the highest levels of the ruling party. The Morena leadership, headed by Luisa María Alcalde, was the first to step in to address the emerging crisis generated by one of its members. “Drug trafficking is a criminal phenomenon that must be combated with the law, intelligence, and a social policy that addresses the root causes in order to deprive organized crime of its recruitment base,” the party stated in a message on social media. Minutes later, this response was followed by a staunch defense of their colleague, who remains a target of the opposition and government critics. “These attacks are unacceptable and seek to intimidate those working toward a more just and safe city, especially young people, whom they pretended to defend until a few weeks ago,” the local leadership stated.
This blunder has given the opposition plenty to criticize, repeatedly accusing the ruling party of tolerating organized crime with the security strategy implemented during the previous administration. This strategy, centered on addressing the root causes, aligns with the “hugs, not bullets” policy championed by López Obrador. “At least they now acknowledge they are a narco-government,” said Adriana Dávila, one of the PAN’s critical voices. The condemnations have come from all sides. “This young woman’s statements are very unfortunate. Second, that’s not the data; of course, the National Intelligence Center is working on this, and third, it’s not desirable,” Sheinbaum maintained, also defending her strategy to prevent recruitment by criminal cells. “We work to prevent this from happening, to ensure that no young person is drawn to crime, assuming it’s a life choice, when in reality it’s a choice of death or imprisonment because that’s the fate of anyone who joins a criminal group,” she concluded.
From the party front, the leadership has resorted to the old rhetoric that blames the governments of the current opposition. “With the PRIAN (PRI and PAN parties), the opposite happened: they opened the doors of the State to crime and then blamed young people whom they denied employment and educational opportunities,” the Morena party countered to deflect the attack. Marín has not made any further statements after the wave of criticism caused by his participation in a debate panel on a national media outlet.
Source: elpais
