The polls stubbornly explain the head of government of Mexico City, June 2024, the Secretary of State for Public Safety, Omar García Harfuch. For this reason, nowadays dozens of websites wonder who García Harfuch is, his life and miracles. But the question is not who, but why. Why does the public award more than 20 points above his perceived political opponents to a man who has repeatedly ruled out running for that position? Why don’t some of the scandals that have plagued the law-educated cop’s career tarnish his image in the slightest? Why do voters think the secretary is the ideal figure to guide the fortunes of one of the world’s largest and most complex cities? Some reasons can be ventured.
Omar Hamid García Harfuch, 40, is a discreet person at his public demonstrations, which he dedicates to briefly mentioning his achievements in keeping the city safe, where statistics reflect a remarkable drop in homicides and other crimes. The perceived social tranquility is also measured in citizens’ perceptions and it is likely that in the capital they have noticed the crime-fighting policing efficiency that the local government possesses. Mexico City is one of the few “Islands of Peace” mentioned by scholars of the violence experienced practically across the country, a top concern for Mexicans. It is therefore not surprising that under the circumstances, the police chief’s merits are appreciated and he is ready to take the helm of the entire ship.
But what really put García Harfuch on the map was what would put him off it: a spectacular attack by the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel with more than 400 bullets that killed his two bodyguards and a woman who was walking by and carrying him took with him to the hospital with three shots. El Tigre, as he was known by his people, displayed a bullfighting stance and, before entering the operating room, sent a tweet to the entire population recounting what had happened. In circumstances like these, some politicians have seen the way open to win the polls, such is the empathy the case inspires among citizens. “This has recognized him among the people as someone who faces crime and harms the interests of organized crime,” says anthropologist Héctor Tejera Gaona of the Autonomous University of Mexico (UAM). The same as Francisco Abundis of consulting firm Parametría says: “This attack makes him look like someone who is very real, who is not pretending, is willing to give his life, that of his family, and has not even raised his hand to run for office . ”.
Omar García Harfuch, in his office in Mexico City, on July 29, 2022. Hector Guerrero
To the extent that the two experts agree on everything else concerning their immediate political future, they present two almost opposite scenarios. One does not see him as a possible candidate, although he has the sympathies of the citizens. The other thinks it could be the revelation of the season. And they explain it like this: “The political structure of the city doesn’t see him as a candidate, I don’t think Morena will give him that space, he has no political networks and in Mexico City 40% of the vote moves through networks, i.e. funding programs, organized groups, everything where political organizations can influence families. He doesn’t do politics and he doesn’t have a social group that supports him,” says Tejera Gaona.
For Francisco Abundis, these disadvantages are just a handful of advantages: “Those who don’t want to, who shouldn’t have this ambition, govern best,” he says, playing Max Weber. The shelter under the acronym “Morena” wouldn’t matter that much, more so it can play in your favor if you don’t have those party networks. After all, much of what the city lost in the 2021 election came from an anti-Morena vote. So this candidate could work. Morena has a very complicated position in the capital and that is a cyclical element that suggests Harfuch may have a chance.” Although he looks politically weak, Abundis said he is seen as a very strong candidate in the elections. “The opposite of what happens to others who have a lot of political network but don’t work in terms of electoral politics happens to him.”
“The Secretary of Security was caught scantily clad and with his furry puppy between his legs.” The sentence makes you think, but it should go in the right direction: It is a photo that Internet users posted on Twitter, in which Harfuch can be seen in a T-shirt and gym shorts, petting a black dog on his lap, on which he sits cross-legged floor. There wouldn’t be much to comment on were it not for the fact that the cop rarely sheds an institutional image in public, his hair combed as if he’s just got out of the bath, his suit and his tie neatly in place. If the photo isn’t stolen and it doesn’t look like it, it’s the most political gesture you’ve ever seen, a 100% campaign shot. Do you really have no intention of jumping into the campaign arena?
🥵 OMAR GARCÍA HARFUCH teaches leg.
👉 With little clothing and his furry puppy between his legs, the CDMX’s Secretary for Citizen Security was captured, who will be 41 on February 25th. pic.twitter.com/KJbVx7zq0A
— Cradle of Crickets (@cunadegrillos) February 17, 2023
“He’s handsome, yes he has a mark, of course he is,” says Tejera Gaona. “But I don’t think people see him as a chance to solve the problems of a city like this. Martí Batres, Clara Brugada and Ricardo Monreal have more chances. He’s not envisioned as a plausible candidate, it’s more of a rumor going around, but he doesn’t play politics, he’s a police officer, not a city manager,” he affirms. The specialist in political processes, citizenship and participation sees Harfuch’s growth area in the area of security. Many think that when the current mayor, Claudia Sheinbaum, becomes Federal President, she will become Federal Minister of Security. Both have expressed their willingness to continue working together. “The presidential candidates are the ones who will enforce the Morena cartel in the city, and Harfuch may be a man of Claudia Sheinbaum, but because he is disciplined, he will not run against them as head of government of the capital,” says the expert.
Again, Abundis disagrees from medium to medium. He believes this distinctly police profile “is what people are looking for”. “He is a good communicator and charismatic and exudes security.” She has, she says, an advantage over other names under consideration, such as that of Clara Brugada, party leader and mayor of Iztapalapa, the area where the Morenists’ slogan is: First, the poor are best cared for. “If you take Brugada out of Iztapalapa, he doesn’t have the same strength anymore, but Harfuch is all over the city, he’s already raising an issue to expose the citizenry.”
If after his attack the lights went out for a while, another attack came to turn them on, that of journalist Ciro Gómez Leyva, who also survived the bullets that crashed into his car on the way home. This matter of national importance allowed us to once again show the best version of the police officer who soon emerged before the media and instilled calm and confidence in the work of the uniformed officers in a country where the agents do not have the best reputation. Within a short time, street camera footage was released heralding a rigorous investigation. A month later, in mid-January, the arrest of 11 people in connection with the case was announced. Harfox’s fame grew.
García Harfuch observes the surveillance cameras in his office on July 29, 2022. Hector Guerrero
What no one questions is that the city is consolidating good policing practices, and that’s saying a lot in a country like Mexico. The paradox of the two attacks, that of Harfuch and that of Gómez Leyva, is that the more evident the penetration of crime into the heart of the city, the more the sense of being in the city became more apparent in the minds of the citizens. good hands. And that seems to be gaining ground, despite the difficulties recently faced by the security minister when the evidence emerging from the investigation into the deaths of the 43 students from Ayotzinapa once again portrayed him in his least flattering profile: the one An officer haunted by the past of his father and grandfather, both in security roles, when some of the greatest atrocities against the people of modern-day Mexico were committed. Although they were haunted by the blood of Tlatelolco and the dirty war, Harfuch’s photo was marred by his presence, documented in defense papers, in a macabre setting, that of Iguala, on October 7 and 8, 2014, when he was commissioner in the Gendarmerie Department of the Federal Police. He always said he was already stationed in Michoacán by that point, but the evidence is persistent.
Sheinbaum has defended his honesty on several occasions, and the stain on the police record appears to have faded over time, like ink on old documents. Until you become a candidate and the sewers become volcanoes.
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