Jesús Ortega Martínez (born November 5, 1952, in

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of above sea level it is pre ...

) is a Mexican

centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...

politician affiliated with the

Party of the Democratic Revolution The Party of the Democratic Revolution (, , PRD) is a state-level social democracy, social democratic political party in Mexico (previously national, until 2024). The PRD originated from the Democratic Current, a political faction formed in 198 ...

(PRD). He has served in the lower and upper house of the

Mexican Congress The Congress of the Union (, ), formally known as the General Congress of the United Mexican States (''Congreso General de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is the legislature of the federal government of Mexico. It consists of two chambers: t ...

. He was elected president of the PRD in 2008. He served as president until he was succeeded by

Jesús Zambrano Grijalva Jesús Zambrano Grijalva (born 1 October 1953) is a Mexican politician who served as President of the Party of the Democratic Revolution from 2011 to 2014 and from 2020 to 2024, becoming the final holder of the position due the loss of party reg ...

in 2011.

Early life and education

Ortega was born on November 5, 1952. He grew up in

and moved to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

to study in the ''Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas'' of the

National Polytechnic Institute National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(IPN).

Political career

He became a member of the now-defunct Workers' Socialist Party (PST), which he represented in 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 ...

during the LI Legislature (1979–1982). He later joined the ''Partido Mexicano Socialista'' (PMS), and served in the Chamber of Deputies from 1988 to 1991 ( LIV Legislature)as a member of PMS. Ortega and his former party, the PMS, supported the candidacy of

Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano (; born 1 May 1934) is a Mexicans, Mexican politician and civil engineer. A prominent Social democracy, social-democrat and the son of 51st president of Mexico Lázaro Cárdenas, he is a former List of heads of ...

for the 1988 Mexican presidential election. He became a founding member of the

(PRD). As a member of the PRD, he was elected to serve in the Chamber of Deputies during the LVI Legislature. In 1996,

Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican former politician, political scientist, public administrator and writer who served as the 65th president of Mexico from 2018 to 2024. He se ...

and Ortega ran for president and general secretary of the PRD, respectively, and won the PRD internal elections. They served in these positions from 1996-1999. In 2000 he won a seat in the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

of Congress. Ortega unsuccessfully mounted a campaign to be the PRD's candidate in the 2006 election for

Head of Government of the Federal District The head of government () wields executive power in Mexico City. The head of government serves a six-year term, running concurrently with that of the president of the Republic. Mexico City, or CDMX, is the seat of national government, and is l ...

(

), losing to

Marcelo Ebrard Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubón (; born 10 October 1959) is a Mexicans, Mexican politician who has served as the Secretariat of Economy, secretary of economy since 2024. He previously served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs (Mexico), Secretary of ...

. Polling in 2005 found him to be the third most popular choice for the PRD's nomination, behind Ebrard and Pablo Gómez Álvarez. In 2008, Ortega ran for the presidency of the PRD, where he faced former Head of Government of the Federal District Alejandro Encinas. The election results were controversial, with both leading candidates accusing each other of fraud. Ortega was described as the moderate candidate in the contest, with Encinas an ally of López Obrador. While a PRD party commission appealed Ortega's victory, 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 ...

affirmed Ortega's victory over Encinas. In September 2012, he assumed the position of National Coordinator of Nueva Izquierda, an internal current of the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (Party of the Democratic Revolution).

References

1952 births Living people Presidents of the Party of the Democratic Revolution Instituto Politécnico Nacional alumni Politicians from Aguascalientes 20th-century Mexican politicians Members of the Constituent Assembly of Mexico City Workers' Socialist Party (Mexico) politicians Party of the Democratic Revolution politicians Deputies of the LI Legislature of Mexico Deputies of the LIV Legislature of Mexico Deputies of the LVI Legislature of Mexico Senators of the LVIII and LIX Legislatures of Mexico {{Mexico-politician-DemocraticRevolution-stub