Mexico loses Cárdenas, the three-time presidential candidate who shook the PRI
The veteran leftist leader and son of former President Lázaro Cárdenas died Wednesday at age 92, prompting tributes from rival political figures across the spectrum.
By Anthony Shevchenko ·
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas died Wednesday in Mexico City at the age of 92, according to President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Cárdenas, a civil engineer by training, was the son of General Lázaro Cárdenas, the president who nationalized the oil industry in 1938. He began his own career with the Institutional Revolutionary Party, serving as a senator and later as governor of Michoacán. In the late 1980s, he led a democratic faction within that party before breaking away entirely.
His 1988 presidential bid ended in a defeat that many observers attributed to massive electoral fraud. That loss is widely credited with sparking Mexico's modern democratic transformation. He subsequently co-founded the Democratic Revolution Party in 1989 and ran for the presidency again in 1994 and 2000, losing both times.
In 1997, Cárdenas became the first mayor of Mexico City to win a direct popular vote. He remained active in politics until 2014, when he resigned from the Democratic Revolution Party. He cited the party's governance in Guerrero during the disappearance of 43 students as the reason for his departure. He also distanced himself from Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a longtime ally, when the latter became president in 2018.
President Sheinbaum described Cárdenas as a man of firm principles on the social platform X. She stated that he led a peaceful democratic movement that channeled millions of Mexicans' desire for change. She added that his dignity and republican convictions remain a reference point for the nation.
Former leaders from opposing sides offered tributes. Vicente Fox, who served from 2000 to 2006, wrote that despite being political adversaries, they were united by the conviction that Mexico deserved complete democracy. López Obrador, who served from 2018 to 2024, called Cárdenas a pioneer of the democratic movement. He noted that without Cárdenas, the country's political reality would be different.
Cárdenas had three children with his wife, Celeste Batel, who has since died. One of their sons, Lázaro Cárdenas Batel, is also a politician.
