Mexico Ally Rules Out Split That Could Cost Sheinbaum Her Supermajority
MEXICO · POLITICS
Updated 1 times · Latest: 28 September 2026
Key Facts
- The country Mexico is governed by President Claudia Sheinbaum’s party, Morena, in coalition with two smaller allies: the Labour Party (PT) and the Green Party.
- Why it matters Together the allies hold the two-thirds majority in the lower house needed to change the constitution. Leaders on both sides say Morena cannot reach it alone.
- What happened On Sunday 27 September the Labour Party leader, Alberto Anaya, ruled out a break with Morena after a week of threats over candidates for 17 governorships in 2027.
- The latest Morena named four of its last seven coordinators, its likely governor candidates, in Nuevo León, Tlaxcala, San Luis Potosí and Nayarit. The Labour Party distanced itself.
- What it means for you A split would make constitutional reforms harder to pass, including a pending dual-nationality rule for top offices. For now Mexico’s ruling coalition keeps its majority.
- Still open Picks for Sonora, Baja California Sur and Chihuahua, whether the Labour Party backs Morena’s choices, and whether it wins any governorship slot.
Mexico’s ruling coalition has stepped back from a public split, but not from its fight over candidates. On Monday 28 September Morena named four likely governor candidates, and the Labour Party distanced itself from the picks.
“We will always go with the President and we will always go in coalition,” the Labour Party leader, Alberto Anaya, said on Sunday, Proceso reported. The row was about who runs for governor in 2027.
It mattered beyond party politics, because Morena needs its allies’ votes to change the constitution.
What changed on 28 September
Morena picked Clara Luz Flores for Nuevo León, where she came fourth as its candidate in 2021, Proceso and El Universal reported. Senator Ana Lilia Rivera got Tlaxcala.
In San Luis Potosí, Morena named Elí César Cervantes and will run without the Labour Party or the Greens, El Universal and Proceso reported. In Nayarit, Green Party senator Jasmine Bugarín got the post, El Universal and Reforma reported.
The Labour Party said it took no part in Morena’s polls and “does not accompany” the announcements, Proceso reported. It still awaits a joint coalition poll that includes its own contenders, Zeta reported.
Why the ally threatened to walk
Seventeen of Mexico’s 32 states elect governors in 2027, alongside a new federal lower house, Alcaldes de México reported. Morena is choosing “state coordinators” by opinion poll, a post that normally leads to the candidacy.
The Labour Party won none of those slots, according to Proceso. It complained of mistreatment, El Financiero reported, and asked for a second poll that included its own contenders, Grupo Animal reported.
On 23 September its leader in the lower house, Reginaldo Sandoval, raised the stakes. “It is not enough for us to win a governorship, but it is enough to make them lose seven, eight, up to 12,” he said, as quoted by Proceso and El Financiero.
The majority behind the threat
Sandoval also warned that without his party the coalition would lack two-thirds in the Chamber of Deputies. Morena’s own floor leader there, Ricardo Monreal, largely agreed.
Without the Labour Party or the Greens, “we would not have reached the qualified majority in major constitutional reforms,” Monreal said, Grupo Animal reported. He doubted the party could cost Morena 12 states, but added: “I am practical and I say: we need the PT.”
He cited the dual-nationality ban for top offices, which he said would not pass the Senate without Labour votes.
Closing ranks at the Zócalo
Anaya spoke at Sheinbaum’s rally in Mexico City’s main square on Sunday. “We love the President very much, we have to close ranks with her,” he said, according to Proceso and El Financiero.
Sheinbaum had said she would stay out of the dispute, El Financiero reported. Morena’s chair, Ariadna Montiel, said both allies had helped propose names and run the polls.
She said Morena wants to keep Mexico’s ruling coalition together.
What Is Not Yet Known
Picks for Sonora, Baja California Sur and Chihuahua were still pending on Monday afternoon, Mexico time. Chihuahua was expected at 7 pm local time (01:00 GMT on Tuesday), El Sol de México reported.
No Labour figure was among the first four names. Nor is it clear whether the party will back Morena’s choices in every state.
Asked whether his party would see the polls behind the picks, Anaya called it “part of an agreed procedure”, El Financiero reported. No joint coalition agreement for 2027 has yet been published.
More: Mexico news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Mexico’s Labour Party split from Morena?
No. On 27 September its leader Alberto Anaya ruled out a break after a week of threats over candidates for 17 governorships in 2027.
Why would a split matter?
The coalition holds the two-thirds majority in the lower house needed to change the constitution, and leaders say Morena cannot reach it alone.
What triggered the threat?
A dispute over candidates for the 2027 governorships. On 28 September Morena named four of its last seven state coordinators, with three still pending.
What reforms are at stake?
Constitutional changes, including a pending dual-nationality rule for top offices.
Sources: Proceso, 27 September 2026; El Financiero, 27 September 2026; Proceso, 23 September 2026; Grupo Animal, 24 September 2026; El Financiero, 28 September 2026; El Diario de Juárez, 28 September 2026; El Universal, 28 September 2026; El Universal, 28 September 2026; Proceso, 28 September 2026; Proceso, 28 September 2026; Proceso, 28 September 2026; Zeta, 28 September 2026; Alcaldes de México, 21 September 2026.
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