Mexican President overstepped by declaring innocence in tax fraud case, lawyers say

Mexican constitutional lawyers have asserted that President Claudia Sheinbaum exceeded her legal authority by publicly stating that Andrés Manuel López Beltrán is not involved in "fiscal huachicol," a term referring to tax fraud. The legal experts argue that the President, like any cabinet member, does not possess the legal standing or access to confidential investigative files required to absolve or condemn any individual of federal crimes.

Rafael Estrada Michel, a Doctor of Constitutional Law, explained that the President operates within explicitly defined powers and is neither a prosecutor nor a judge. "The government always operates within a scope of express powers. It is not within its scope of competence to know about crimes, neither for the purposes of prosecution, much less for the administration of justice. She is not a judge," he stated. Estrada Michel also cautioned against the Attorney General's Office (FGR) prematurely absolving individuals when preliminary evidence is still needed to continue an investigation.

Francisco Burgoa Perea, a constitutional lawyer and professor at UNAM's Faculty of Law, highlighted that the President's declarations reveal a fundamental constitutional issue. He stressed that this is not about violating the presumption of innocence but about questioning who holds the constitutional authority to assess and determine criminal responsibility. While the Constitution reserves criminal investigations for the Public Ministry (Article 21) and upholds the separation of powers (Article 49), Burgoa Perea contends that the Head of the Executive Branch acted as both a judicial body and a judge.

Javier Martín Reyes, another constitutional lawyer and political scientist, echoed these sentiments, stating that legally, the President is not empowered to exonerate anyone. He emphasized that the accusations against López Beltrán are serious and fall under the FGR's investigative purview. The lawyers' consensus is that the President's intervention improperly usurps the functions of the FGR and the judiciary, undermining the principle of separation of powers and due process.

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El gobierno se mueve siempre en un ámbito de facultades expresas. No está en su ámbito de competencias conocer de delitos, ni para efectos de la procuración de justicia, mucho menos de la administración de la misma. No es juez.