A year before his arrest by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR)—on charges of concealing audiovisual material regarding the disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa student-teachers in September 2014—former Guerrero Governor Ángel Aguirre Rivero sought to reach out to President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
Footage of the encounter has been re-examined on digital platforms amidst the criminal proceedings against the former governor, highlighting the President’s refusal to be associated with him: “Send him my regards, but tell him no. I don’t accept gifts from them,” she stated, while handing back a paper bag decorated with pink paper to a woman.
That gesture in Xochistlahuaca was well-received by supporters of the “Fourth Transformation” movement.
Later, when questioned by reporters, the President took a harsher tone and questioned Aguirre Rivero’s intentions: “Why would a former governor send me a gift? I mean, what does it mean? Besides, I don’t know him, nor do I have any desire to meet him. There is no reason for me to accept a gift from a former governor,” she replied.
