Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

• 🐄 Sonora-Arizona border reopens to cattle trade: Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo joined the mañanera via video link from Agua Prieta, where the Douglas, Arizona, port of entry reopened to Mexican cattle on Monday, more than a year after the U.S. closed its border over New World screwworm concerns. Sheinbaum said the ban had shifted more Mexican beef to the domestic market but still hurt cattle sectors nationwide.
• 🏛️ Sheinbaum calls Rocha’s return “imprudent”: The president said she learned of Rubén Rocha Moya’s decision to return to the Sinaloa governorship via social media and didn’t think it was appropriate. She said his decision to leave again a day later was “the best thing for Sinaloa.” Rocha is accused of drug trafficking by U.S. prosecutors.
• ⚖️ Interim governor still to be named: Sheinbaum said the Sinaloa Congress must appoint an interim governor to serve until a new governor takes office in late 2027, following June’s gubernatorial election. She said the pick should be honest, professional and dedicated to Sinaloa’s people.
• 🗣️ Sheinbaum dismisses AMLO rumor: Asked if she’d discussed Rocha’s situation with former president López Obrador, Sheinbaum said she had not and called claims that he told Rocha to return to office “political fiction.”

Why today’s mañanera matters

Last Friday, Rubén Rocha Moya announced he had returned to his position as governor of Sinaloa more than three months after he went on leave following the unsealing of a U.S. indictment accusing him and nine other current and former Sinaloa-based officials of drug trafficking in league with the Sinaloa Cartel.

Rocha’s decision to return to the governorship of the northern state was described as “personal” by the federal Interior Ministry and opposed by lawmakers and state governors affiliated with the ruling Morena party, which Rocha also represents.

His return to the governorship didn’t last. On Saturday, Rocha asked to go on leave once again and that request was approved by the Sinaloa Congress on Sunday. His decision to leave the governorship — for a second time — came after President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on social media that “no personal interest can ever be above the interests of the people and the nation.” She didn’t mention Rocha by name, but her message was clearly aimed at him.

The most significant aspect of today’s mañanera was that the president spoke in more detail about Rocha’s decision to return to the governorship of Sinaloa. Sheinbaum has endorsed the view of the Federal Attorney General’s Office that U.S. authorities have not provided evidence that warrants the extradition of the governor to face drug trafficking charges. While she has defended Rocha’s right to the presumption of innocence, she evidently doesn’t believe he should be at the helm of the Sinaloa government and thus serve as the foremost representative in that state of the “fourth transformation” (4T) political movement she leads.

Also of note at today’s mañanera was a live cross to Sonora, where Mexican cattle exports to the United States are resuming more than a year after the U.S. closed its border to Mexican livestock due to concerns over the spread of the New World screwworm in Mexico.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the Aug. 24 reopening of the Douglas, Arizona, port of entry to cattle trade last month.

Sonora-Arizona border reopens to cattle trade 

Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo joined the mañanera via video link from the northern border city of Agua Prieta, where the Douglas port of entry into Arizona reopened to Mexican cattle on Monday.

“We’re here at the quarantine station in Agua Prieta with the extraordinary news of the reopening of cattle exports to the United States,” Durazo said.

“We thank you and your team, president, … for all the steps you have taken to achieve this goal,” he said.

“We recognize and appreciate your commitment to agriculture in Sonora and those who make their living from it,” Durazo said.

The governor said that the cattle trade across the border between Agua Prieta and Douglas is resuming with an “enhanced health-screening capacity.”

Sheinbaum noted that the U.S. closed its border to Mexican livestock for an extended period due to screwworm concerns.

“There was an economic impact, although, believe it or not, meat production in Mexico increased,” she said.

“While [Mexican beef] wasn’t sold in the United States, it was sold in the domestic market. But the [ban on exports] obviously affected different cattle sectors across the whole country,” Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum: Rocha’s decision to return to the governorship of Sinaloa was ‘imprudent’

Sheinbaum told reporters that she found out about Rocha’s decision to return to the governorship of Sinaloa via his social media post on Friday.

“I didn’t have any prior knowledge that he wanted to return to his duties in the state of Sinaloa,” she said.

“The truth is that I didn’t think it was appropriate, to say the least,” Sheinbaum said.

The president said on Sunday that Rocha’s decision to once again leave the governorship was “the best thing for Sinaloa.”

On Monday morning, Sheinbaum noted that the Sinaloa Congress has to appoint an interim governor until a new governor takes office in late 2027 following the Sinaloa gubernatorial election in June of next year. Yeraldine Bonilla Valverde served as interim governor until Rocha’s surprise return last Friday.

Sheinbaum said that the interim governor should be a person who is honest, professional and dedicated to “the people of Sinaloa.”

Later in the press conference, she said that she didn’t agree with Rocha’s decision to return to the governorship of Sinaloa.

“At the very least, I thought it was imprudent,” Sheinbaum said.

“… Nothing personal can be above the interests of the people of Sinaloa and the people of Mexico,” she said.

“So I thought his decision was imprudent,” Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum rejects claims that AMLO told Rocha to resume his governorship

A reporter asked the president whether she had discussed Rocha’s situation with former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), the founder of Morena and the 4T political movement.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Sheinbaum responded.

She went on to describe claims that AMLO told Rocha to return to the governorship of Sinaloa as “political fiction.”

“… Political fiction is the order of the day,” Sheinbaum said.