Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, a key figure of the left in Mexico and one of the promoters of the founding of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), has died at the age of 92. The news has been confirmed by the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, who has underscored the relevance of the veteran politician in Mexican public life.
"With profound sorrow we lament the passing of engineer Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano, a man of firm principles, who transformed the political life of our country," the head of state has said, who has highlighted that "his role in the contemporary history of Mexico is fundamental".
Sheinbaum has recalled that Cárdenas "headed in 1988 a peaceful democratic movement that channeled the desire for change of millions of Mexican women and men". "That historic election day, in which he should have been recognized as president, marked the beginning of democratic transformation," she has maintained.
The president has likewise emphasized that "his dignity and republican conviction remain an essential reference for our nation", alluding to his status as the son of former president Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-1940). "He knew how to honor that legacy with a coherent trajectory, always faithful to the defense of national sovereignty and social causes," she has stated.
In her message, Sheinbaum has added: "We send our sincerest condolences to Lázaro, Cuauhtémoc and Camila, to all his family, friends and loved ones", insisting that "Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano lives forever in the history of Mexico".
Cárdenas was a presidential candidate on three occasions —1988, 1994 and 2000— and participated in the creation of the PRD together with former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who governed between 2018 and 2024, before being replaced by Sheinbaum herself.
In the 1988 elections he faced the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), a party in which he militated for a quarter of a century before breaking with it and helping to build the PRD. Cárdenas’s defeat against the PRI came accompanied by opposition complaints over alleged irregularities intended to prevent his victory.
For his part, López Obrador has publicly expressed his sorrow over the death of the veteran leader, whom he has defined on social media as "precursor of the democratic movement in the recent history of Mexico".
"Without him, the political reality of the country would be different. He was a transformer; he leaves us his teachings and the ideals that never die," the former president has stated, who has also sent "a hug" to "families, friends and colleagues" for the death of the historic left-wing leader.