Renán Barrera seeks return as mayor, while Vila runs for governor

Two Panista politicians have signaled their intentions for the general election.

The former Mérida mayor, Renán Barrera Concha, said he would register today for a return to that post. His successor in office, Mauricio Vila Dosal, has already announced a run for governor.

If they succeed, that would put two PAN party officials in Yucatán’s two most influential seats. Currently, a PRI governor is in place, with a PAN mayor in its capital city.

The general election is July 1, and it’s a big one. Voters will also elect a new president to serve a six-year term, 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies and 128 members of the Senate.

In previous weeks, the former mayor made public his aspiration to compete for the governorship of the state, but party leaders in December chose to back Vila Dosal, who is 37. Maria Fritz Sierra, a city bureaucrat with no party affiliation, today was named interim mayor while Vila Dosal campaigns for higher office.

Barrera Concha, 38, was the city’s mayor from 2012 to 2015, and today is coordinator of mayors of the PAN National Executive Committee.

A mayoral term is three years, and is capped at two terms. A governor serves a six-year term, and cannot run for re-election.

Me da mucho gusto invitarles mañana a mi registro como precandidato a la alcaldía de Mérida. ¡Vamos a hacer de nuestra capital la mejor ciudad del país! pic.twitter.com/NSyGTVQhjW

— Renán Barrera (@RenanBarrera) January 6, 2018