Guillermo Padrés Elías (born 29 June 1969) is a Mexican politician and a member of the National Action Party (PAN). He served as

Governor of Sonora List of governors of the Mexican state of Sonora since 1911: *2021–present Alfonso Durazo Morena (political party), MORENA *2015–2021 Claudia Pavlovich Arellano Institutional Revolutionary Party, PRI *2009–2015 Guillermo Padré ...

from 2009 to 2015.

Political career

Padres' political career began in 1997 when he was elected to the

Congress of Sonora The Honorable Congress of the State of Sonora () is the legislative branch of the government of the Mexican state of Sonora. The Congress is the governmental deliberative body of Sonora, which is equal to, and independent of, the executive. T ...

as State Representative for the 7th electoral district with 61 percent of the vote. In 2000, he was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

for Sonora's 2nd congressional district for the LVIII Legislature with 50.35 percent of the votes, and served until 2003. In 2006, he was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

representing Sonora. His party received 44 percent of the vote. As Senator, he served as Chairman of the Agriculture and Livestock Committee, and served on the Justice Committee and Water Resources Committee. On 16 January 2008, he announced his intention to run for

in the 2009 elections. On 1 March 2009, he won the first day of PAN elections in Sonora, with 2,625 votes against 1,709 for María Dolores del Rio and 477 for Florencio Diaz Armenta. The following day, María Dolores del Rio and Florencio Diaz Armenta withdrew from the race, leaving Padrés as the sole candidate.

Governor of Sonora

In the gubernatorial election of 5 July 2009, Padrés Elías defeated the

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (, PRM) and fin ...

(PRI) candidate, Alfonso Elías Serrano, with 464,865 votes for Padrés Elías against 425,050 votes for Elías Serrano; however, the PRI challenged the election results. On 17 August, the State Electoral Tribunal rejected the challenge, and certified the election of Padrés Elías. The PRI appealed to the

Federal Electoral Tribunal The Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary ( or ) is a venue within the judiciary of Mexico specializing in electoral matters. Among its functions are resolving disputes arising within federal elections and certifying the validity of t ...

, which on 11 September also rejected the challenge. Padrés Elías served as Governor of Sonora from 2009 to 2015.

Arrest and criminal charges

Padrés Elías was wanted by the Federal Police and Interpol on multiple charges of corruption, embezzlement, and extortion. In total, Padrés transferred US$8.9 million from Mexico to US bank accounts. Authorities seized 19 properties belonging to Padrés Elías in the municipalities of

Arizpe Arizpe (or Arispe) is a small town and the municipal seat of the Arizpe Municipality in the north of the Mexican state of Sonora. It is located at 30°20'"N 110°09'"W. The area of the municipality is 2,806.78 sq.km. The population in 2020 was ...

Cananea Cananea is a city in the Mexican state of Sonora, Northwestern Mexico. It is the seat of the Municipality of Cananea, in the vicinity of the U.S−Mexico border. The population of the city was 31,560 as recorded by the 2010 census. The po ...

Cajeme Cajeme is one of the 72 Municipalities of Mexico, municipalities of the northwestern List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Sonora. It is named after Cajemé, a Yaqui people, Yaqui leader. The municipality has an area of 3,312.05 km2 (1 ...

and

Hermosillo Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo municipality, the state's ...

, as well as two properties belonging to his associates. After a long man-hunt, Padrés gave himself up to the Federal authorities on 10 November 2016, claiming innocence. He was released on 2 February 2019, to continue the process.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Padres Elias, Guillermo Governors of Sonora 1969 births National Action Party (Mexico) politicians Members of the Senate of the Republic (Mexico) Politicians from Sonora Living people Mexican politicians convicted of crimes Members of the Congress of Sonora Fugitives wanted by Mexico 20th-century Mexican politicians Deputies of the LVIII Legislature of Mexico People from Cananea