Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Morena, Mexico’s ruling party, released its official call Wednesday night for selecting the party’s candidate for governor of Quintana Roo, imposing strict gag rules on government officials, party leaders, and aspirants that ban them from expressing support or making public accusations.
The convocatoria, which governs the election of the so-called coordinator of the Defense of Transformation and Sovereignty in Quintana Roo — the precursor to the gubernatorial candidacy — lacks precise deadlines for announcing approved registrations and survey results, as party leaders had previously signaled.
The only firm date is the submission of registration applications, which aspirants must deliver on Friday, June 26. The publication of the approved registration list remains open until December 31, 2026. Similarly, the results of the party’s internal polls will be made public at a time determined by the National Elections Commission.
During Wednesday’s press conference announcing the call, reporters asked whether the surveys and their results would be available between August and September, as unofficial sources had suggested. However, Morena’s female leaders did not provide further clarification, stating only that precise dates for both announcements would be agreed upon after the World Cup ends.
The convocatoria notably includes gag order provisions that apply to government officials, party leadership, and aspirants during the promotion period.
According to the rules, the following officials and representatives may not participate in support or propaganda activities related to this process for or against any participant, express their preference, make pacts with factions aligned with any of them, and must maintain strict impartiality throughout the process:
- Governors and members of their respective cabinets;
- Mayors and municipal presidents and their first-level collaborators;
- Coordinators of federal and state legislative caucuses of Morena;
- Directors of all federal and state legislative bodies;
- Anyone holding a national or state leadership position in Morena, as well as members of its Elections, Surveys, Honesty and Justice commissions, the National Institute of Political Training, and/or its Advisory Council.
These rules are linked to a strict prohibition on using public budgets or government assets to favor participants or their representatives during the process, as well as the use of public resources of any kind; the intervention of public servants in favor or against participants; the use of social programs, conditioning, or coercion in favor or against participants; and any other mechanism that seeks to unduly influence the development of the process.
This means mayors and state party leader Johana Acosta Conrado must stop participating in and even organizing informational assemblies for Senator Eugenio “Gino” Segura, as they had been doing before the convocatoria was issued. Pressure on public administration workers to attend those events must also cease, as they can now be reported within Morena.
The convocatoria also prohibits wasteful campaigns, billboard advertisements, or spending contrary to the austerity principles the movement advocates.
Notably, even though approved registrations will be announced on an imprecise date, simply applying for registration authorizes aspirants to conduct promotional activities. These include door-to-door canvassing, neighborhood meetings, organizing assemblies in public squares and/or public places, and in closed spaces, “with the aim of informing the people of Mexico about the achievements of the Fourth Transformation, strengthening the territorial organization of the movement, promoting the integration and consolidation of the Committees for the Defense of the Fourth Transformation, and activities in defense of national sovereignty, under the principles of independence, self-determination, popular organization, and defense of the interests of the people of Mexico; all in strict adherence to the organizational and political strategies determined by the National Executive Committee and the corresponding party bodies.”
Another key rule strictly prohibits aspirants from making public accusations against the party, its leadership bodies, or other aspirants or protagonists, or committing acts of violence against other members or party property. Violating this provision will result in the cancellation of the aspirant’s registration and referral to the National Commission on Honesty and Justice.
Regarding the party’s survey, the convocatoria states that it will be conducted by the Surveys Commission and may include two mirror surveys carried out by companies of recognized prestige. The methodology and results of the survey(s) will be made known to participants whose registration has been approved, with a public version to guarantee the right to information.
In defining the coordinators of the Defense of Transformation and National Sovereignty for the federal entities, the decision of the people expressed in the surveys will be privileged, while simultaneously guaranteeing the principle of gender parity, the document adds.
The transitional articles of the convocatoria indicate that adjustments, modifications, addenda, or errata to the call for its correct implementation, or those derived from agreements, resolutions, or requirements of electoral authorities, will be made by the National Elections Commission, which will also resolve situations or issues not foreseen.
All publications of approved registrations and notifications related to the process will be made through the website: https://morena.org.
