The crisis caused by Rubén Rocha Moya’s failed return to the governorship of Sinaloa accelerated the timing in Morena and forced Ariadna Montiel’s leadership to anticipate the decision on who will be their candidate for the governorship in 2027. In the new scenario, following the challenge from the governor on leave, all eyes are on Senator Imelda Castro, one of the few Morenistas unlinked to rochismo and unrelated to the investigations opened in the United States for alleged ties to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Read more Codelco: more information to evaluate its decisions
In Morenista circles, Imelda Castro is the name that has been most repeated in recent hours, after President Claudia Sheinbaum quelled Rubén Rocha’s rebellion by forcing him to request a new “indefinite” leave. Castro was first mentioned as a possible interim to complete the term that was to end on October 31, 2027. However, that role would have prevented her from competing in the elections, and both the president and the party leadership prefer her for a more important mission. In the coming hours, according to party sources, she will be appointed “state coordinator for the defense of transformation and national sovereignty” and later, candidate to try to retain power in Sinaloa in the elections next June.
Castro, according to consulted sources, has the endorsement of President Sheinbaum and is the profile that best passed the filters of Morena’s National Commission of Honesty and Justice, which in June tightened the locks in an attempt to avoid new corruption scandals within its ranks.
Another fact cleared the outlook in her favor: the appointment of federal deputy Graciela Domínguez Nava as interim governor, who had registered to participate in the selection process for the Sinaloa coordination. With Domínguez’s exit from the internal contest, nine Morena and allied party aspirants remain, from an original list of 13 people who registered to seek the candidacy. Most of those figures have been ruled out due to their closeness to Rocha’s group.
Among the closest rochistas, who in recent hours have seen their aspirations frustrated, stand out Omar López Campos, Secretary of Welfare in the state government and substitute senator for Enrique Inzunza, also investigated by the Department of Justice; Estrella Palacios, municipal president of Mazatlán and former Secretary of Tourism, and local deputy Rodolfo Valenzuela; three figures who supported Rocha on their social networks during his brief return.
The list of aspirants who registered with Morena’s national leadership in June and who would have participated in the polls includes five other Morenistas: local deputy Teresa Guerra, local deputy Kristiam Ezpinoza, former deputy Jesús Alfonso Ibarra, member Tomás de Jesús López, and former mayor of Ahome, Gerardo Vargas, who was also Secretary of Government during Governor Mario López Valdez’s time, Malova, and a contender of Rubén Rocha in Morena’s internal 2021 race. Also registered was the magistrate of the local Administrative Justice Tribunal, Lucila Ayala, but she was ruled out for not requesting leave to separate from her position. Additionally, the Green Party registered Ricardo Madrid and the PT Fernando García, both federal deputies.
Read more The Argentinian restaurant that challenges employment exclusion after 50
What profile does Imelda Castro have
Senator Imelda Castro, 58 years old, began her political career as a member of the El Barzón movement. She was a founding member of the PRD in 1989 and held leadership positions at the state level in the 90s, the years when the national leader was Andrés Manuel López Obrador and when the left had little presence in the north of the country. She became president of the State Steering Committee in 2005. She was a Senate candidate in 2000, councilor of Culiacán, and deputy to the local Congress in two legislatures (2001-2004 and 2013-2016). She was a teacher and official at the Autonomous University of Sinaloa and, between 2011 and 2013, director of Agroindustry in Malova‘s government.
In 2017, she resigned from the PRD and joined Morena, and a year later was elected senator, a position she was re-elected to in 2024. She requested leave on June 22, 2026, to participate in Morena’s internal process. Her status as a favorite in the contest has exposed her to opposition complaints. Just this Tuesday, the Electoral Institute of the State of Sinaloa declared unfounded two complaints for premature campaign acts promoted by PAN and MC for painting walls with her name and using public resources to promote herself.
On August 22, in the midst of the crisis over Rubén Rocha’s return, she was one of the first Morenistas to echo President Claudia Sheinbaum’s stance. “As we have always said, there are no individual projects here, nor personal interests, but a transformation project led by the people. Let us honor the values and principles that gave rise to this great movement that extends throughout Sinaloa and Mexico. Our unconditional support to the president at this time.”
Santiago Nieto goes for Querétaro
Along with the coordination in Sinaloa, Morena’s leadership plans to announce Santiago Nieto as coordinator in Querétaro this Wednesday, an entity governed by PAN. Until April 30, Nieto was director of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, appointed by Sheinbaum since the beginning of the administration. Previously, the lawyer was prosecutor of the State of Hidalgo and director of the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Ministry of Finance.
As head of the UIF, Nieto was responsible for undertaking controversial investigations against opponents, such as PAN members Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca, former governor of Tamaulipas, and Roberto Gil Zuarth, former senator of the Republic. In 2021, his ostentatious wedding with electoral counselor Carla Humphrey deepened his differences with President López Obrador, who removed him from office.
Read more Latin America Time at the United Nations
