Samuel García (politician)

Samuel Alejandro García Sepúlveda (born 28 December 1987) is a Mexican lawyer and politician serving as the Governor of Nuevo León.

García was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, on December 28, 1987 to Samuel Orlando García Mascorro, a lawyer and prosecutor, and Bertha Silvia Sepúlveda Andrade.

García hosted a children's newscast on Canal 28 Nuevo León, a state-owned TV channel, where he conducted interviews and would conclude the program with readings on religious topics, taken from his mother's books.

As a high school and undergraduate student at ITESM, he frequently participated as speaker.

García completed his secondary education at Colegio San Patricio Monterrey from 1999 to 2002 and continued at Prepa Tec from 2002 to 2005.

Following this, he enrolled at ITESM, obtaining a B.A. in law and finance in 2010, followed by a master's degree in public law in 2012 and a Ph.D. in public policy and public administration in 2014.

In 2014, García joined Rescatemos Nuevo León, an organization which allowed him to run for a local congressional seat through proportional representation.

A member of the Citizens' Movement party, he served as a local deputy in the Congress of Nuevo León from 2015 to 2018 and represented Nuevo León in the Senate from 2018 to 2020.

Born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, García obtained his law and finance degree from ITESM and subsequently earned a master's degree in public law and a Ph.D. in public policy and administration.

Despite his loss to Marcelo Martínez Villarreal in the race for the 18th district seat during the 2015 Nuevo León state election, García successfully secured a congressional seat through proportional representation.

While he was a state deputy, he was named the parliamentary coordinator of Citizens' Movement in the Congress of Nuevo León.

As part of his campaign, García pledged to donate his salary, a promise he fulfilled by donating to Un solo San Pedro.

From 2017 to 2019, García led the Citizens' Movement party in the state of Nuevo León.

In 2017, he assumed provisional leadership of the Citizens' Movement party in the state of Nuevo León, succeeding Pilar Lozano Mac Donald.

In 2018, he was elected to the Senate, and in 2021, he was elected governor of Nuevo León.

In 2023, García secured his party's presidential nomination for the 2024 election, but withdrew amidst a political crisis over the appointment of an interim governor in Nuevo León.

In the 2018 Mexican general election, Samuel García and Indira Kempis Martínez, nominated by Citizens' Movement (MC), successfully ran to represent Nuevo León in the Senate, obtaining 24.01% of the vote.

At the age of 30, García became one of the youngest senators of the LXIV legislature, only being surpassed by Raúl Bolaños Cacho Cué of the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM) at 30 years old, and by Citlalli Hernández and Claudia Balderas Espinoza of MORENA, who were 28 and 26 years old respectively.

During his tenure, García joined the opposition to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's administration, aligning himself against the parliamentary coalition of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), the Labor Party (PT), the Social Encounter Party (PES), and the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM).

He served as the chairman of the Federalism and Municipal Development commission, secretary of the North American Foreign Affairs Commission, and member of several other commissions, including the Commission for Monitoring the Implementation of T-MEC, the Commission of Legislative Studies, the Commission of Finance and Public Credit, the Jurisdictional Commission, the Justice Commission, the Commission for Youth and Sports, and the Constitutional Points Commission.

In October 2018, he travelled to The Hague, Netherlands, as part of the Mexican Senate's appeal against the former governor of Veracruz, Javier Duarte de Ochoa, on charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court.

The Mexican Senate accused Duarte of orchestrating the distribution of 70,000 counterfeit HIV tests and fraudulent treatments to children with cancer during his administration.

Subsequently, he earned a second Ph.D. in tax law at ITAC University in 2019, concluding with his last Ph.D. in constitutional law and governance at UANL in 2022.

He held this position until August 2, 2019, when Agustín Basave Alanís was elected as the state's party leader.

In October 2019, he filed a report with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of the Attorney General's Office (FGR) against the then governor of Nuevo León, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, alleging crimes such as money laundering and misappropriation of resources.

He asserted that he possessed substantial evidence, referencing four judgments from the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (TEPJF) that purportedly implicated Jaime Rodríguez Calderón in these illicit activities.

According to García, he was the second most productive senator, having introduced 370 bills and points of agreement, in addition to making 119 speeches in the chamber.

Samuel García started dating social media influencer Mariana Rodríguez Cantú in 2015, and were married on March 27, 2020, with their wedding ceremony taking place at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Monterrey.

In April 2020, the couple announced they were expecting a baby, but one month later, Rodríguez experienced a miscarriage.

On March 10, 2023, their first daughter, Mariel, was born.

García's father is the cousin of Gilberto García Mena, a former high-ranking member of the Gulf Cartel known as "El June".

On November 17, 2020, he sought temporary leave from his senatorial seat to pursue the governorship of Nuevo León in the 2021 gubernatorial elections.

During his absence, Luis David Ortiz Salinas assumed his role.

On November 18, 2020, he officially registered as a pre-candidate for the gubernatorial nomination of Citizens' Movement with the party's National Commission of Conventions and Internal Processes.

Although rumors suggested that Luis Donaldo Colosio Riojas was also going to contend the nomination, he later declared his candidacy for the municipal president of Monterrey, leaving García as the sole contender.

On February 18, 2021, his candidacy became officially registered with the State Electoral Commission (CEE).

On March 5, 2021, he kicked off his campaign at a conference where he unveiled proposals for a new tax agreement, a new vaccination plan funded with private investment, a new public transport system, a new infrastructure program, an intensified fight against corruption, and a new regional airport hub.

He positioned himself as an incorruptible politician, emphasizing his non-involvement in corrupt systems, having avoided affiliations with the PRI, and having donated his salary for six years.

He embraced the motto "Arrancar la vieja política de Nuevo León" (translating to "Eliminate the old politics of Nuevo León").

Criticizing the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and its candidate, Adrián de la Garza Santos, along with the National Regeneration Movement candidate, Clara Luz Flores, he accused them of embodying "the old politics of the PRI," asserting, "They are both the same as always, those who have been looting Nuevo León for years. (...) if MORENA wins, the country, and therefore, Nuevo León, will end, if the PRI wins they will once again end the state."