Mexico’s political right is gearing up for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February, where fledgling parties hope to garner more support from the United States.
This year, CPAC and the organization México Republicano (Republican Mexico) are holding a summit entitled “Mexico Facing the Fentanyl Crisis and Narcoterrorism” on Feb. 5 and 6, with the hopes of attracting a large audience of Mexican and U.S. politicians.
The group has sent invitations to U.S. government officials, including Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among others.
CPAC was founded in the United States five decades ago and rose to greater prominence in the 2010s when Donald Trump gave a speech that helped launch his political career.
The conference brings together right-wing ideologues and has attracted several Latin American and European far-right political attendees in the past, such as Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Its influence in Mexico, while growing, remains confined to a small circle of right-wing voices rather than a broader movement.
Representatives from Mexico’s PRI and PAN parties have confirmed their attendance, alongside former governors from northern Mexico, federal and state legislators and leaders of conservative political parties and civil society organizations.
The conference is taking place at a defining moment for the U.S.-Mexico relationship, given the United States’ recent intervention in Venezuela and the upcoming renegotiation of the USMCA free trade agreement.
Is México Republicano an official party in Mexico?
México Republicano, a far-right organization that openly promotes Trumpist ideology, has been working to become a formally recognized political party since 2023.
Its membership has long been a close supporter of CPAC, and, in November, the group received CPAC’s endorsement during the Circle Retreat and Gala CPAC 2025 at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida.
In November, México Republicano’s president, Juan Iván Peña Nader — a former functionary during the government of Felipe Calderón — said the organization was working against the clock to hold the required assemblies to move forward with its party registration.
“They require 20 assemblies: we’re going to do 25… We have until the last day of February,” Peña Nader told the newspaper Milenio.
The move follows the resignation of former governor Juan Manuel Oliva Ramírez as the organization’s secretary.
Upon Oliva’s departure, he reportedly told newspapers that the organization lacked the financial resources required to advance its political ambitions.
Peña Nader responded to his claims by saying México Republicano “has sufficient funds to organize what it needs to organize.”
“The issue is how much and how to spend it. It’s very expensive and very complicated; we have to make specific, effective moves,” he added.
Another ultraconservative organization in northern Mexico, “México Tiene Vida” (“Mexico Has Life”) — commonly referred to as Vida — recently reported it was close to achieving the thresholds required to earn formal recognition as a national political party, with a reported 220,000 people registered with the organization.
