Mexico City Tribunal Bars Former Cuauhtémoc Mayor Sandra Cuevas From Office For A Year

Administrative Justice Tribunal in Mexico City disqualified the former mayor of Cuauhtémoc borough, Sandra Cuevas, from occupying any position in the public sector for one year due to abuse of power during Operation Diamond in 2023.

The resolution was announced on June 29 and sent to Cuevas on August 17.

This is not the end of the issue, because Mexican law provides a way to avoid the disqualification. The disqualification will take effect only after those remedies are exhausted.

In the decision filed as case TE/I-22616/2023, the tribunal found that Cuevas, along with other members of her team, committed offenses in connection with implementing Operation Diamond. According to Milenio, which claims to have the over 100-page resolution, the tribunal found that “as borough president, the [former] head of government carried out and induced borough workers to seize merchants’ properties without following any procedure, causing damage to the private parties.”

In addition to a one-year ban from public employment, Cuevas is prohibited from participating in public procurements, contracts, concessions, services, and public works for the same period.

Operation Diamond took place between June 19 and August 9, 2023, in the Cuauhtémoc borough, the central one which covers the historic center of Mexico City, Roma, Condesa, and Juárez neighborhoods. Crews led by Cuevas removed fixtures, pergolas, planters, benches, and other property that businesspeople had placed on sidewalks and streets. Cuevas said it was to recover public space and open the way for pedestrians.

Residents and business owners filed complaints about abuse of power. After an investigation by the borough’s internal control office, it opened a case of alleged administrative responsibility (disciplinary file OIC/CUA/D/389/2023). It was then sent to the tribunal’s first ordinary chamber for administrative responsibility.

According to Eje Central, the tribunal considered videos posted by Cuevas, such as the video from July 16, 2023, where she cuts down a wooden pergola using a chainsaw and the video from June 29, 2023, where she is walking down the street pointing at planters and furniture and ordering employees, “We’re taking all of this.”

The tribunal found that the property was removed without prior notice to the merchants and without the proper administrative procedure to determine whether the property had permits.

This is the second time this same tribunal has sanctioned Cuevas for abuse of power.

In 2022, the tribunal removed Cuevas from her office and imposed a one-year disqualification for closing the Guelatao sports center. The case went to the Supreme Court, which suspended the penalty while it heard the challenge. According to Proceso, the court’s Second Chamber rejected her constitutional challenge in April 2024, although she continues to run for senator for Movimiento Ciudadano.

Cuevas headed Cuauhtémoc borough from 2021 to 2024. She was an outspoken critic of the city government. Her street campaigns received strong approval among residents complaining about the blocked sidewalks. Still, civic associations, businesspeople, and restaurant owners condemned them, claiming Cuevas targeted poor people.

Cuevas did not comment on the latest decision. Previously, she said she would contest the decision in court.