The Zacatecas march

After the partisan decisions, the Monrealists closed ranks. And they established the critical path for the transfer of political power in Zacatecas. If 2024 was the year of pacification, 2025 will be the year of well-being, and 2026, the year of succession.

David Monreal Ávila assumed the role of political leader and in his fourth government report he dictated the rules for his succession: “Those who aspire to continue the Transformation in our town, I remind you of the guiding principle: with the people everything, without the people nothing… and against the people of Zacatecas, no one!”

David Monreal made public his affection and respect for Representative Ricardo Monreal, "not only for his teachings, but because he has been a good politician and a good brother." For Senator Saúl, the youngest of the dynasty, and the other candidates for the Morena candidacy (Representative José Narro; Rodrigo Reyes Muguerza, Secretary of Government; and Senator Verónica Díaz Robles), these were brief gestures in the saturation and the message with which the succession formally begins.

Presidential representative César Yáñez Centeno, head of the National Institute of Mexican Nationalism (INM), Sergio Céspedes Peregrina, businessman Carlos Peralta, and former national leader of the PVEM (Mexican Party), Carlos Puente, completed the list of special guests.

For 100 minutes, the Morena leader defended the results of his four-year term. And he declared himself victorious in the fight against insecurity. So much so that he proclaimed the replication of the "Zacatecas model" in other regions of the country as the formula for establishing a new era of peace, well-being, and progress.

Although he took over a bloodied and financially bankrupt entity, "I never gave up, I never wavered," Monreal Ávila insisted, with the satisfaction of a job well done. He also boasted of having rebuilt "on the ruins left behind by others."

The continuation of his legacy—the financial rescue, the pacification of the state, and social development—will have one premise: that the dark times never return.

"We've done work, restored peace, supported the countryside, promoted social programs... but most importantly, we've regained the people's trust."

Governor Monreal Ávila's fourth report also served as a platform for candidates to succeed him. Among the most affable were José Narró Céspedes, the former Morena senator whose image was tarnished by GuacamayaLeaks. And the former president of the Superior Court of Justice, Arturo Nahle, another Monreal supporter who would be affected by the top-level agreements.

Confident of having reduced the rate of violence in the state, the Zacatecas governor began the countdown to his term. Unless his brother Saúl maintains his rebellion, the Fresnillo clan is destined to seek a different face to preserve the power they have held for three decades, with the brief exception of the six-year term of PRD member Amalia García.

Will Zacatecas have a female governor again? As it did 15 years ago, the Monreal party has decided to opt for a generational change, but, alerted by the negotiations between the Claudista leadership and the opposition, they are determined to require a male to be appointed.

The Monreal brothers' successor, Ávila, would be the current secretary general of the government. And if the party reserves the candidacy for a woman, it would be Verónica Díaz.