INE Resignations Expose Power Behind Election Machinery

Fifteen officials at Mexico’s National Electoral Institute resigned after its president, Guadalupe Taddei, left the post. Their departures put the institute’s leadership and contracting under scrutiny, while the Chamber of Deputies prepares to choose a permanent president. The INE organizes Mexico’s federal elections. Its leadership is changing through voluntary departures, council requests and a legislative appointment.

Who Controls the Institution

Provisional president Blanca Yassahara Cruz García reported the 15 departures on Wednesday, 28 October. Twelve officials resigned voluntarily from the president’s office; the INE General Council requested three others to leave. Carlos Daniel Luna Rosas, head of the president’s office, was among those who resigned. Cruz said the officials had links to Taddei.

Taddei submitted her resignation to the Chamber of Deputies, effective Monday, 26 October. The next day, the General Council unanimously named INE councillor Blanca Cruz provisional president. Cruz said three unit heads had left, overseeing gender equality, informatics and material resources. The sources didn’t identify all 15 officials or specify which three departures the General Council requested.

The Chamber of Deputies must choose a permanent INE president to serve until 2032, the end of Taddei’s term. Ricardo Monreal, floor leader of the governing Morena party in the Chamber, estimated the selection could take four to five weeks. Legislators will decide who leads the institution that organizes federal elections; until then, Cruz holds the provisional post.

Contracts Under Investigation, Findings Still Pending

The departures followed media reports alleging conflicts of interest in INE contracts. Those claims haven’t been proven, and no authority had confirmed reported ties between Taddei and electoral suppliers. Taddei denied favoritism in contracts and said the presidency doesn’t directly participate in awarding them.

The Superior Audit Office of the Federation (ASF), Congress’s audit body, opened an investigation into INE contracting on Friday, 23 October. It reported preliminary indications of possible conflicts of interest, collusion and resource triangulation, referring to funds routed through intermediary firms. These remain preliminary indications, not published findings. No one had been charged.

The INE’s internal control body also had open inquiries. The article reports that Ricardo Monreal said those inquiries had run for about six months, but investigators hadn’t published findings. The INE said it would cooperate with the ASF. Cruz said the institute would ask its internal watchdog whether any departing officials were under investigation. The institute may withhold severance until inquiries conclude, she said, while adding that no one should be prejudged.

Election Schedule and Institutional Continuity

Cruz said the 2026-2027 process remained on schedule, with 32 state boards and 300 district boards in place. The INE’s next federal election covers the Chamber of Deputies and 17 governorships. Those operations continue as its leadership changes and investigators examine contracting; the base account reports no community-led response, mutual-aid effort or direct action connected to the resignations.

President Claudia Sheinbaum, of Morena, backed Taddei’s decision to step aside on 26 October, said the case should be investigated and asked the ASF to continue its review and present conclusions. The institutional response so far includes an audit, internal inquiries, cooperation with investigators and a pending legislative selection. No inquiry findings have been released, and the allegations remain unproven.