In 2014, Mexico’s Constitution was reformed to create an autonomous National Prosecutor’s Office (Fiscalía General de la República), separate from the Executive Branch. The reforms called for the new office to replace the Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduría General de la República, PGR), an institution marred by a lack of independence and minimal results. On January 18, 2019, in an accelerated process without civil society participation or a true assessment of the candidates, the Mexican Senate selected the acting head of the PGR, Alejandro Gertz Manero, to be the first national prosecutor, a post he will occupy for the next nine years.
Below, we present an analysis of progress made in developing the structure of this new institution as well as the issues that remain pending for this new stage.
