In addition to winning the presidency with Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s ruling Morena party won six of eight gubernatorial elections on Sunday, according to preliminary results.
The party founded by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also won the Mexico City mayoral race, with Clara Brugada prevailing over PAN-PRI-PRD candidate Santiago Taboada.
Candidates backed by Morena and its allies won the gubernatorial contests in Chiapas, Morelos, Puebla, Tabasco, Veracruz and Yucatán.
In Guanajuato, the candidate for the PAN-PRI-PRD alliance won, while a Citizens Movement (MC) party candidate looked set to retain the governorship of Jalisco for that party.
When the new governors and Mexico City mayor take office, Morena and its allies, the Labor Party (PT) and the Ecological Green Party of Mexico (PVEM), will govern 24 of Mexico’s 32 federal entities.
Registered as a political party just 10 years ago, Morena, with Sunday’s results, further entrenches itself as the dominant political force in Mexico.
The party — whose name is an acronym of Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (National Regeneration Movement), but also means brown-skinned woman — also won strong majorities in both houses of federal Congress, according to preliminary results, as well as numerous mayoral contests in municipal elections held across the country.
Early results show big win for Morena in Chiapas
Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar, the Morena-PT-PVEM candidate in Chiapas, won a resounding victory in the southern state, which is currently governed by Morena.
Preliminary results updated at midday Monday showed he he attracted 79.1% of the vote.
Olga Luz Espinosa, candidate for the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), finished in a distant second place with just under 12% of the vote.
Ramírez, a former federal senator, said on the social platform X that he was “very grateful” to citizens who “bet on the the continuity of the transformation,” a reference to the so-called “fourth transformation” initiated by López Obrador and the Morena party.
“There are more of us who want to transform our state, and this was reflected at the ballot box,” he wrote.
PAN-PRI-PRD alliance prevails in Guanajuato
Libia García Muñoz Ledo won the governorship of Guanajuato for the PAN, PRI and the PRD. She will become the state’s first ever female governor.
The 40-year-old candidate won around 51% of the vote, according to preliminary results, while the Morena-PT-PVEM aspirant, Alma Alcaraz Hernández, had the support of about 41%.
García’s victory ensures the continuation of National Action Party rule in Guanajuato, which has been a PAN stronghold for decades.
“We won!” the candidate wrote on X.
“For the first time a woman will be at the front of the governor of Guanajuato,” García said.
“… Thank you for trusting in the best project for our people.”
MC likely to retain Jalisco
Among Mexico’s eight gubernatorial elections, Jalisco saw the closest contest on Sunday. Preliminary results showed MC candidate Pablo Lemus with almost 41% of the vote, while Morena-PT-PVEM hopeful Claudia Delgadillo had 38.5% support.
More than 40% of votes had still not been counted at midday.
Jalisco is currently governed by MC governor Enrique Alfaro Ramírez.
Lemus, a former mayor of Guadalajara, has claimed victory, but as of early Monday afternoon, Delgadillo had not conceded defeat. She said on X that she wouldn’t accept the announcement of a winner until all the votes have been counted.
Morena maintains power in Morelos
Margarita González Saravia, candidate for Morena and its allies, won convincingly in Morelos, according to preliminary results. She will become the state’s first female governor.
The former head of Mexico’s National Lottery attracted about 48% of the vote, well ahead of PAN-PRI-PRD candidate Lucía Meza Guzmán on just over 30%.
Former soccer star Cuauhtémoc Blanco governed Morelos until April, when he stepped down to stand as a candidate for the federal Chamber of Deputies.
Morena is in office in the state and with González’s victory will rule for another six years.
“The people of Morelos triumphed,” the Morena candidate wrote on X above “quick count” results that showed she was the clear winner.
Early results show Morena holding on to Puebla
Morena-PT-PVEM candidate Alejandro Armenta Mier was a clear victor in Puebla’s gubernatorial election with around 59% of the vote, according to preliminary results.
PAN-PRI-PRD candidate Eduardo Rivera Pérez was well behind with around 33% support.
Armenta will succeed current Morena governor Sergio Salómon Cespedes.
“The only thing that moves us is love for Puebla,” Armenta wrote on X.
“Thank you because with the participation of the poblanos [residents of Puebla], we will continue making history with Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum,” the winning candidate added.
Morena secures titanic triumph in Tabasco election
Javier May Rodríguez, a former federal welfare minister and ex-head of the National Tourism Promotion Fund, scored a crushing victory for Morena and its allies in Tabasco, the home state of President López Obrador.
May attracted over 80% of the vote, leaving his two rivals with single-digit support.
He will replace current Morena governor Carlos Merino Campos later this year.
“This historic triumph is for all the people of Tabasco, the same people who welcomed us with happiness and open arms on every walk, at every event and in every meeting,” May wrote on X.
“Thank you for believing in a better Tabasco for everyone!”
Veracruz vaults Morena candidate into the state’s top job
Former federal energy minister Rocío Nahle won the governorship of Veracruz for the alliance headed up by Morena. She will become the state’s first female governor.
Nahle attracted more than 58% of the vote, according to preliminary results, well ahead of the PAN-PRI-PRD candidate José Francisco Yunes on 32%.
She will head up the second Morena government in Veracruz when she succeeds current Governor Cuitláhuac García later this year.
“In Veracruz we will continue making history,” Nahle wrote on X.
“Democracy and the continuation of the transformation triumphed. Thank you very much!”
Morena wins Yucatán gubernatorial election for the first time
The only upset among the eight gubernatorial races was the triumph of Morena candidate Joaquín Díaz Mena in Yucatán.
Díaz, who was injured in a car accident last Wednesday, attracted around 51% of the vote, according to preliminary results. Morena will thus take office for the first time in Yucatán, which has been governed by both PAN and PRI governments this century.
PAN-PRI candidate Renán Barrera, a former Mérida mayor, attracted support of around 42.5%.
Díaz, who served as the federal government’s “super-delegate” in Yucatán for almost five years before becoming Morena’s gubernatorial candidate, thanked Barrera on X for conceding defeat.
“I thank him very much for his good wishes for the good of our state,” the Morena candidate wrote.
Mexico News Daily
