President Claudia Sheinbaum held her first morning press conference of the week on Wednesday after focusing on Independence Day activities on Monday and Tuesday.
“I was already missing you,” she told reporters at the start of the mañanera.
Later in the press conference, Sheinbaum spoke about a range of topics, including her history-making Grito de Independencia (Cry of Independence) on Monday night and an illicit fuel case allegedly involving members of the Mexican Navy.
Sheinbaum: Part of being Mexico’s first presidenta is recognizing nation’s female historical figures
A reporter asked the president about the Cry of Independence she delivered at Mexico City’s central square, the Zócalo, on Monday night. He specifically wanted to know the reason why Sheinbaum wished “long life” to Mexican independence heroines who hadn’t previously been mentioned in presidential Cries of Independence.
The president recalled that when she was in primary school the only independence heroine she was taught about was Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez.
“And in the following periods of history [we learned about] there were no women. It seemed as though there were only heroes and that there hadn’t been women in the history of Mexico who had an important or predominant role in the historic struggles or heroic deeds of our country,” she said.
“Part of being the first woman president has to do with recovering and recognizing the women in the history of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said.
In first ‘Grito’ as president, Sheinbaum honors Mexico’s heroines of Independence
“Why is it so important? First we’d have to ask, why weren’t [women] mentioned? Why weren’t the heroines recognized. It was a very masculine, very macho view of history,” she said.
“Secondly, what did it mean to a girl that only heroes were mentioned? Well, you thought that there were only men in history who had had an important role,” Sheinbaum said.
“You didn’t see yourself [in Mexico’s historical figures],” she said.
“… So it’s very important to recognize the heroines,” Sheinbaum added.
Illegal fuel and the navy minister’s ‘very powerful speech’
A reporter asked Mexico’s president about what he described as a “very powerful speech” made by Navy Minister Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles at an Independence Day military parade event on Tuesday.
In his speech, Morales said that it was “very hard to accept” that members of the navy have committed “reprehensible acts” — such as engaging in fuel smuggling — but asserted that it would have been “absolutely unforgivable” to “keep quiet” about them.
“The fight against corruption and impunity is a central part of the transformation,” the navy chief said, referring to the so-called “fourth transformation” political project led by Sheinbaum.
The president didn’t comment directly on Morales’ speech, but described the navy minister as a “very honorable” and “brave” man.
She subsequently noted that the Federal Attorney General’s Office is responsible for investigating a fuel smuggling case allegedly involving members of the navy, including a vice admiral, and a petroleum tanker that was seized at the Gulf Coast port of Tampico, Tamaulipas, in March.
It’s “very important” that there not be impunity, said Sheinbaum, who frequently asserts that her government has zero tolerance for the scourge.
Hernán Bermúdez ‘expelled’ from Paraguay
Sheinbaum told reporters that the Foreign Affairs Ministry was seeking to expedite the extradition to Mexico of Hernán Bermúdez Requena, a former security minister in the state of Tabasco who was arrested in Paraguay last Friday.
Bermúdez, who served as security minister during the governorship of Adán Augusto López Hernández, is accused of heading up a criminal organization called La Barredora.
He refused to agree to a simplified extradition process, creating the expectation that his transfer to Mexico would take two months or longer.
However, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch announced on Wednesday afternoon that Bermúdez was being transferred to Mexico.
“We appreciate the firm collaboration and support of the President’s Office of Paraguay, which notified the decision to expel said person,” García Harfuch wrote on social media, adding that the reason why he was expelled was his irregular entry to and presence in Paraguay.
Above a photo of Bermúdez next to a Mexican government plane, the security minister wrote that the suspect would be sent to CEFERESO 1, a federal prison in México state, “to continue his legal process.”
On Wednesday morning, Sheinbaum said that Mexico’s National Intelligence Center collaborated with Paraguayan authorities on the efforts to locate Bermúdez, who fled Mexico in January.
She noted that López Hernández, a former interior minister who is now the ruling Morena party’s top senator, has expressed his willingness to collaborate with authorities on the case against his former security minister in Tabasco.
Sheinbaum noted that the Tabasco Attorney General’s Office is investigating Bermúdez and stressed that her government won’t seek to intervene in or influence the investigation in any way.
“The important thing is [to have] zero impunity,” she said.
“That is very important. It doesn’t matter if he was security minister of a Morena governor. Zero impunity,” Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum apologizes to reporter
A week after she rebuked an El Universal journalist for the way he framed a question about the death of a marine, Sheinbaum apologized to the reporter.
“If he felt offended or something like that, I apologize,” the president said.
“In reality, it’s important that there be … respect for the families when there is a situation of the death of a person,” she added.
Sheinbaum scolded the El Universal reporter after he asked whether it was a “coincidence” that a “marine allegedly linked to fuel theft” was killed during a live fire exercise in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora.
“With all respect to you and the media outlet you represent, the way you’re asking that question doesn’t seem right to me, not for the victim nor for what happened,” she said.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
