Sheinbaum calls for overhaul of Mexico’s electoral institute INE after corruption network revealed, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday, November 6, that the National Electoral Institute (INE) must undergo a profound process of internal cleanup after evidence was made public confirming the existence of a network of corruption and monopoly in public contracts that operated within the body for more than two decades.
The president questioned the opposition protests staged during the previous administration under the slogan “El INE no se toca” (“Don’t touch the INE”), saying the narrative aimed to protect the interests of a group entrenched in the electoral body. “Maybe they said ‘Don’t touch the INE’ so they could keep this whole electoral mafia that was built with them,” she said.
“The INE does need to be cleaned up. It must guarantee the popular will and clean elections, but also internal operations marked by transparency and republican austerity.”
The statement follows the formal resignation of former INE council president Guadalupe Taddei, who faced allegations of irregularities in multimillion-peso contracts and conflicts of interest. Federal investigations revealed a continuing pattern of contracts awarded to the same suppliers since 1999.
Sheinbaum said she will request a review of all contracts granted by the INE during Taddei’s tenure and earlier periods.
Specialists and audits determined that several competing firms simulated price competition in public tenders, agreeing in advance on the lowest bid to secure the award for a single beneficiary structure linked to the Hernández brothers and the Casillas brothers. According to the reports, the contractor network has operated since the late 1980s in agencies such as the National Population Registry and the Cisen, consolidating its presence at the electoral referee across successive administrations.
Sheinbaum also questioned why electoral contracts systematically ended up in the same hands since 1989, and said the structure strengthened during the tenure of former INE president Lorenzo Córdova.
To curb the irregularities and guarantee transparency ahead of the midterm elections on June 6, 2027, when more than 21,000 elected positions will be renewed, the federal government announced that ballots and electoral materials will be produced directly by state print shops and graphic workshops. Strict guidelines will also be set for contracts awarded by Local Electoral Public Agencies (OPLEs).
Analysts and electoral specialists, including Carolina del Ángel Cruz, agreed that prompt intervention and transparency in the investigations are urgent to restore public legitimacy to the institution, warning that a lack of credibility in the electoral referee puts citizen recognition of democratic processes at risk.
The institutional crisis follows press reports of an alleged network of at least seven INE suppliers that reportedly simulated competition in awards and issued receipts for nonexistent services. In response, the Superior Audit Office of the Federation (ASF) opened an investigation.
The electoral body manages a budget exceeding 14 billion pesos, excluding resources allocated to political parties, and employs more than 19,000 workers.
