Overview
- On Friday, August 28, 2026, Arturo Zaldívar explained at Palacio Nacional that an arrest warrant by itself does not automatically suspend a person’s political‑electoral rights.
- Zaldívar said Article 38 requires two elements to strip rights for an arrest warrant: a valid warrant plus evidence the person is a fugitive who authorities tried and failed to locate or detain.
- He stressed the presumption of innocence, noting that being denounced, investigated or formally accused does not by itself prevent someone from registering as a candidate.
- Zaldívar clarified that rights are suspended when a person is held in preventive detention or is serving a custodial sentence, and that a non‑custodial conviction only bars rights if the judge expressly and autonomously orders suspension.
- Applying the rule to Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca, Zaldívar said that if the ex‑governor has a warrant, has not appeared before a judge and remains abroad he would fit the fugitive test, but he also said he lacks the case file and that courts or the Electoral Tribunal must make any formal disqualification on a case‑by‑case basis.