The name of Hernández was kept under wraps, and the element of surprise did its job. For the Government, a victory of this kind was necessary when, it is estimated, the electoral reform presented by Sheinbaum will fail on Wednesday. Those close to the downplay its importance and assure that she has already fulfilled her campaign promise to present the reform. That logic was precise to neutralize other profiles that were being pushed by Adán Augusto López Hernández, Ricardo Monreal, and even Andy López Beltrán. Until the very end, the Government worked to create the perception that the President's primary options were María Luz Mijangos or Juan José Serrano. The decision to back Aureliano Hernández as the new head of the Federal Audit Office was made two weeks ago when Carlos Augusto Morales named him in a small meeting. This was explained to LPO from the National Palace. The criteria were two: absolute loyalty to Claudia Sheinbaum's tight-knit group and, from the start, the need to balance the influence of Raquel Buenrostro, referenced in Palenque, on a sensitive issue for the President like the fight against corruption and impunity. Once the decision was made, the push for Hernández was surgical, and the reticence within Morena and among allies regarding the electoral reform were used to cement his path to the top of the ASF. The message was clear: the Government could accept the differences over the reform, but it could not accept that they wouldn't vote for their own auditor. 'The ASF is a strategic place and it's already ours; now we have to finish controlling Morena,' they tell this newsroom. Today's Tuesday reflects the President's priorities: to steer economic growth — that's why the meeting with Scandinavian business leaders — and to bolster the good numbers on security policy, hence the meeting with mayors from across the country. The ASF is a decisive hill because it's where the political agreements made by Andrés Manuel López Obrador with governors and former governors reside: the appointment of Hernández is confirmation that these understandings now pass through a different terminal.
