INE Chief Guadalupe Taddei Resigns Amid Contract and Travel Scandals

Mexico City — Guadalupe Taddei announced she is stepping down as council president of Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE), following weeks of controversy over her son’s luxury trip to Paris and reports that a close ally’s company won millions of pesos in institute contracts.

In a statement released by the INE, Taddei said she will formally present her resignation to the Chamber of Deputies on Monday, as the institute prepares to organize next year’s elections.

“This decision responds to my conviction that protecting the institute and allowing it to continue fulfilling its constitutional mission must always come before any passing or personal interest,” she said. “The decision does not relieve anyone of the duty to clarify — with transparency, rigor and due process — the facts that must be investigated.”

Taddei said she had been the target of “leaks, setups, filtered material and accounts whose authenticity, context and purpose, as in every case, must be verified and corroborated.”

“This circumstance has led me to weigh the importance that the National Electoral Institute has, as I have always maintained, for the life of Mexico,” she added. “The responsibility of organizing elections goes far beyond any one person.”

What the case involves

The outlet Latinus reported that in less than four years Taddei turned the INE into a damaged institution, dogged by allegations of mishandled public funds and of a network of electoral officials — her own allies as well as favored suppliers — who have collected lucrative contracts.

According to those reports, after arriving at the INE in March 2023, Taddei brought in a group of collaborators who had awarded contracts to favored suppliers at state electoral institutes where they held key posts. From the INE, they maintained close ties with those contractors.

Latinus published video it said showed the electoral councilor in traditional dress alongside José Alfredo Hernández Casillas, a representative of Cajas Graf, a company that has won millions of pesos in contracts with the INE under Taddei — and earlier, when she presided over the Sonora state electoral institute.

In 2025, Cajas Graf signed a contract with the INE to supply materials for the judicial elections, for a maximum of 198.7 million pesos.

The business ties extend further. A series of officials close to Taddei belong to the same network that has benefited Cajas Graf and its sister company, Corporativo Zeg. Both shared a common figure: Jesús Octavio García González, who went from legal representative of the two firms to being named INE administrator by Taddei.

The resignation announcement follows criticism from senior officials, including President Claudia Sheinbaum, who said there should be no corruption at the INE, and Senate leader Ricardo Monreal, who warned that no one would be protected.