By Bronson Pettitt
Mexico Weekly / March 31, 2011
After 18 months as attorney general, Arturo Chávez resigned his post as the country's top prosecutor on Thursday.
At a Los Pinos press conference, Chávez told reporters is decision is based “strictly on personal reasons.” President Calderón said Chávez's tenure as attorney general had been critical “to ensure the security of Mexican communities.”
“I deeply and personally appreciate the great job he has done and the dedication he demonstrated as attorney general,” Calderón said.
The president also praised Chávez's efforts to fight drug trafficking organizations and his long-term vision to modernize and transform the Attorney General's Office (PGR).
At the same press conference, Calderón presented Marisela Morales as his nomination to succeed Chávez.
Morales is the PGR's special prosecutor for organized crime. She must go through a confirmation process in the Senate. In the meantime, Jorge Lara, assistant legal prosecutor for international matters, will serve as interim attorney general.
If the Senate confirms Morales, she would become the first female attorney general in Mexico's history. She was the first woman ever appointed as a special prosecutor for organized crime.
Morales boasts a 23-year career in legal circles and was instrumental in creating Mexico's first witness protection program and in prosecuting the first federal human-trafficking case.
“She has a long career in the PGR … and has national and international prestige,” Calderón said.
On March 8, Morales became the first Mexican woman to be awarded the International Woman of Courage Award presented by the U.S. State Department.
Morales will become the third attorney general in Calderón's administration.
Chávez took over as top prosecutor in September 2009, when his predecessor, Eduardo Medina Mora, resigned to become Mexico's ambassador to the United Kingdom.
In a 2009 diplomatic cable made public by WikiLeaks earlier this month, U.S. Embassy officials in Mexico City credited Medina for his efforts to modernize the PGR and maintain positive relations with the U.S., but his relations with Federal Police Chief Genaro García Luna were said to be an obstacle to cooperation between the two offices.
In contrast, when Chávez took office there was fierce criticism from opposition parties and human rights organizations.
Critics said Chávez had done little to solve or prevent femicides during his role as Chihuahua attorney general (1996-98).
In another cable leaked on March 9, U.S. Embassy officials termed Chávez's appointment “totally unexpected and politically inexplicable.”
“Chávez has strong detractors within the Mexican human rights community because of his perceived failings in dealing with the murder of a large number of women in Ciudad Juárez, at a time when he was ratcheting up the fight against drug cartels,” U.S. diplomats wrote.
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