An academic from the Pan American University has been chosen as Jalisco’s new anti-corruption “tzar.”
State legislators voted unanimously to appoint Gerardo de la Cruz Tovar as the state’s first Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor (Fiscal Especial en Combate a la Corrupcion).
By far the most important figure in the new Sistema Estatal Anticorrupcion (State Anti-Corruption System or SEA), De la Cruz Tovar’s chief role will be to bring corrupt officials and private citizens to justice.
The candidates vying for the post were all vetted by the SEA’s oversight committee and approved by Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval. Oversight committee President Jorge Alberto Alatorre Flores said De la Cruz Tovar must now establish an “ambitious but feasible working plan” to combat corruption, and not be a “decorative prosecutor.”
Despite efforts by some individuals who have filed an injunction (amparo) to delay the process of De la Cruz Tovar taking office, Jalisco’s new drug tzar is expected to be sworn in once he has undergone rigorous control de confianza (trustworthiness) tests.