Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, founder of the PRD and Mexico City's first elected mayor, dies at 92

Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano died on the night of Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at the age of 92, in Mexico City.

According to Infobae, he died at the Hospital Ángeles Metropolitano. The family has not disclosed the cause. Days earlier he had already canceled public events for health reasons.

The son of a president

He was born on May 1, 1934. He was the son of former president Lázaro Cárdenas and Amalia Solórzano.

He studied civil engineering at UNAM. For years he was a member of the PRI: he served as a senator and as governor of Michoacán from 1980 to 1986.

The 1988 election

In 1987 he led a critical faction inside the PRI and then left the party to head the National Democratic Front. In 1988 he ran for president against Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

That night, the vote-counting system famously crashed. Salinas was declared the winner and Cárdenas denounced fraud.

Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas ran for president three times: in 1988, 1994 and 2000.

The PRD and the capital

In 1989 he founded the PRD, the main party of the Mexican left for decades. He ran again in 1994 and 2000, without winning.

In 1997 he achieved something historic: he became the first head of government of the Federal District elected by popular vote, with 48% of the vote. Before that, the capital was run by someone appointed by the president.

In 2014 he left the PRD. In 2026 he was still the honorary head of an advisory commission of Pemex.

The farewells

President Claudia Sheinbaum remembered him as a man of firm principles. Former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador called him a forerunner of the democratic movement.

Leaders of the PRI, the PAN and Movimiento Ciudadano also sent condolences. His remains were taken to the Panteón Francés, where his wife, Celeste Batel, is buried.