On your marks, get set and go! The line-up of candidates for Chapala’s 2024 mayoral race is taking shape with three confirmed names already on the list and a fourth expected at any minute.
The deadline for the registration of slates for Jalisco municipalities is Sunday, March 3.
The first man up at the starting gate is Isaac Alberto Trejo Gracián, who announced he was in the running under the Movimiento Ciudadano (MC) banner back in November. His registration was confirmed on February 27. He previously served as the Chapala government’s solicitor from 2018 to 2021 under Moisés Anaya Aguilar.
Juan de Dios “Bebo” García Velasco was ratified as the candidate for Morena on December 11. He lost his 2021 bid for the mayor’s seat representing Hagamos. Belonging to a prominent business clan that has been involved in local politics for two generations, he sat on the city council in the 2015-2018 administration.
Chapala physician Julián Cristóbal Ortíz Urciaga is registered as the candidate for Futuro, after initially raising his hand for Hagamos. The switch came after the Sigamos Haciendo Historia coalition unraveled in Chapala and 32 other municipalities in mid-February. He previously served as city councilor for MC in the 2018-2021 term.
The last-minute wildcard in this year’s race is the contestant who will stand as a unity candidate for Frente Amplio X Chapala, an alliance of Partido Acción Nacional (PAN), Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) and Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD). It is presumed that incumbent mayor Alejandro Aguirre will fill the slot. To do so he must take a leave of absence from the job and file registration by Sunday’s deadline. Authorization is expected at the city council session now set for Friday, March 1, 4 p.m., after two postponements in the past week.
The official campaign season runs from March 31 to May 29. Voters go to the polls on June 2.