Samuel García (politician)

Samuel Alejandro García Sepúlveda (born 28 December 1987) is a Mexican lawyer and politician serving as the Governor of Nuevo León. A member of the Citizens' Movement party, he served as a local deputy in the Congress of Nuevo León from 2015 to 2018 and represented Nuevo León in the Senate from 2018 to 2020.

Born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, García has an extensive academic background, holding three doctoral degrees: one in public policy and public administration from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM), in tax law from ITAC University, and in constitutional law and governance from the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL). He has authored three books and taught tax law at UANL.

García was elected governor of Nuevo León in 2021, defeating the Institutional Revolutionary Party nominee, Adrián de la Garza, by 10.21%. As governor, he has focused on boosting foreign investment through nearshoring, expanded the Metrorrey network, and oversaw the Nuevo León water crisis.

In 2023, García secured the Citizens' Movement presidential nomination for the 2024 election, but withdrew amidst a political crisis over the appointment of an interim governor in Nuevo León.

Early years and education
García was born on 28 December 1987 in Monterrey, Nuevo León to Samuel Orlando García Mascorro and Bertha Silvia Sepúlveda Andrade. His father was from Guardados de Abajo, Tamaulipas, who moved to Nuevo León to study law at the age of 14, eventually becoming a lawyer and prosecutor.

García hosted a children's newscast on Canal 28 Nuevo León, a state-owned TV channel, where he conducted interviews and would conclude the program with readings on religious topics, taken from his mother's books.

Education
García completed his secondary education at Colegio San Patricio Monterrey from 1999 to 2002 and continued at Prepa Tec from 2002 to 2005. Following this, he enrolled at ITESM, obtaining a B.A. in law and finance in 2010, followed by a master's degree in public law in 2012. As a high school and undergraduate student at ITESM, he frequently participated as a speaker.

García obtained his first Ph.D. in public policy and public administration from ITESM in 2014. His dissertation, Fiscal Federalism in Mexico, received an honorable mention and was published as a book in 2016. Subsequently, he earned a second Ph.D. in tax law from ITAC University in 2019. In 2022, he achieved his third Ph.D. in constitutional law and governance from UANL. His dissertation, titled Local Constitutions in Mexico and the Realization of Federative Entities' Autonomy: A Special Focus on the Nuevo León Case, delves into how federalism in Mexico has been eroding due to the centralized system of national politics.

Early political career
In 2014, García joined Rescatemos Nuevo León, an organization which allowed him to run for a local congressional seat through proportional representation.

Local deputy
Despite his loss to Marcelo Martínez Villarreal in the race for the 18th district seat during the 2015 Nuevo León state election, García successfully secured a congressional seat through proportional representation.

While he was a state deputy, he was named the parliamentary coordinator of Citizens' Movement in the Congress of Nuevo León. As part of his campaign, García pledged to donate his salary, a promise he fulfilled by donating to Un solo San Pedro.

In 2017, he assumed provisional leadership of the Citizens' Movement party in the state of Nuevo León, succeeding Pilar Lozano Mac Donald. He held this position until 2 August 2019, when Agustín Basave Alanís was elected as the state's party leader.

Election
In the 2018 Mexican general election, Samuel García and Indira Kempis Martínez were nominated by Citizens' Movement to represent Nuevo León in the Senate. They were successfully elected, obtaining 24.21% of the vote, beating the National Action Party's candidates, Víctor Oswaldo Fuentes Solís and Alejandra Maria Sada Alanis, by only 15,131 votes.

Tenure
At the age of 30, García became one of the youngest senators of the LXIV legislature, only being surpassed by Raúl Bolaños Cacho Cué of the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM) at 30 years old, and by Citlalli Hernández and Claudia Balderas Espinoza of MORENA, who were 28 and 26 years old respectively.

In October 2018, he travelled to The Hague as part of the Mexican Senate's appeal against the former governor of Veracruz, Javier Duarte de Ochoa, on charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court. The Mexican Senate accused Duarte of orchestrating the distribution of 70,000 counterfeit HIV tests and fraudulent treatments to children with cancer during his administration. In October 2019, he filed a report with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of the Attorney General's Office (FGR) against the then governor of Nuevo León, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, alleging crimes such as money laundering and misappropriation of resources. He asserted that he possessed substantial evidence, referencing four judgments from the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (TEPJF) that purportedly implicated Jaime Rodríguez Calderón in these illicit activities.

According to García, he was the second most productive senator, having introduced 370 bills and points of agreement, in addition to making 119 speeches in the chamber.

On 17 November 2020, he sought temporary leave from his senatorial seat to pursue the governorship of Nuevo León in the 2021 gubernatorial elections. During his absence, Luis David Ortiz Salinas assumed his role.

Commission assignments
For the LXIV Legislature of the Mexican Congress:


 * Federalism and Municipal Development Commission (chairman)
 * North American Foreign Affairs Commission (secretary)
 * Commission for Monitoring the Implementation of T-MEC
 * Commission of Legislative Studies
 * Commission of Finance and Public Credit
 * Jurisdictional Commission
 * Justice Commission
 * Commission for Youth and Sports
 * Constitutional Points Commission

Nomination
On 15 November 2020, Citizens' Movement announced that García and local deputy Luis Donaldo Colosio Riojas were seeking the party's gubernatorial nomination. On 25 January 2021, Colosio dropped out and declared his candidacy for the municipal president of Monterrey, leaving García as the only gubernatorial precandidate. On 18 February 2021, García's candidacy became officially registered with the State Electoral Commission (CEE).

Gubernatorial election
On 5 March 2021, García kicked off his campaign at a conference where he unveiled proposals for a new tax agreement, a new vaccination plan funded with private investment, a new public transport system, a new infrastructure program, an intensified fight against corruption, and a new regional airport hub. He positioned himself as an incorruptible politician, emphasizing his lack of ties to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and having donated his salary for six years. His campaign motto was "Arrancar la vieja política de Nuevo León" (in English: "Eliminate the old politics of Nuevo León").

García frequently attacked Adrián de la Garza (PRI) and Clara Luz Flores (MORENA), claiming that both candidates embodied "the old politics of the PRI". He used the video of Clara Luz Flores with NXIVM's Keith Raniere to further his point, questioning, "between Clara Luz and Adrián de la Garza, who of the two has the most criminal, evil, and perverse godfather? Which of the two has done and will do more damage to Nuevo León?". During his campaign, García faced criticism from his past comments which were perceived as "out of touch" with voters. These included him describing his childhood as challenging because his father forced him to play golf and by claiming people could live on a "small salary of $50,000 pesos", despite most Mexicans earning significantly less than $7,500 pesos per month.

García's campaign gained momentum through his wife's social media presence. Mariana Rodríguez Cantú, a well-known influencer with a following of over 1.7 million followers on Instagram, inadvertently viralized the campaign in a video where she showcased her orange sneakers and described them as, "Fosfo, fosfo", which was subsequently adopted as a slogan by García's campaign and the Citizens' Movement party.

On 6 June 2021, García was elected to a six-year term as the Governor of Nuevo León with 36.71% of the vote, defeating six other candidates. He became the first Citizens' Movement candidate to be elected governor in Nuevo León.

Governor of Nuevo León (2021-present)
García was sworn in as the governor of Nuevo León on October 4, 2021.

Economy
Taking advantage of industrial firms seeking to move their supply chains from China to Mexico, García has spearheaded the nearshoring trend, with the governor frequently traveling abroad to negotiate with business leaders. Notable investors in the state include Bosch, Lego, Siemens, LGMG, and John Deere. Tesla also agreed to build a gigafactory in the state by 2026 following negotiations between García and CEO Elon Musk.

The state broke foreign direct investment records in both 2022 and 2023, reaching $4.5 billion in 2023 alone.

Environment
García attended COP26, where he announced that he would introduce environmental taxes to create a green fund for reforestation. García included four types of environmental taxes in the 2022 budget: on contamination from stone material extraction, and on pollutant emissions into the atmosphere, water, and soil.

In March 2023, García's administration launched the "Bosques Ciudadanos" initiative, which aimed to plant one million trees by the end of his tenure. By June 2023, 10,600 trees had been planted.

Between 2023 and 2024, due to deteriorating air quality, the state activated an environmental alert a total of eleven times.

García faced criticism for the deforestation of parts of the Santa Catarina River (Mexico), which he defended as a preventive measure against potential hurricane-induced flooding; the project was halted due to opposition. Additionally, the use of the funds collected from the state's environmental taxes has been criticized by environmentalists demanding more transparency after the state's Secretary of Environment revealed that some funds had been allocated to address water issues.

Metrorrey
García unveiled an expansion of the Metrorrey network –Lines 4, 5, and 6– each designed as a monorail system on an elevated viaduct. Amidst pushback from many in south Monterrey, who preferred an underground system, Line 5 was changed to an Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit system, which would operate at ground level with some elevated sections. In early 2023, construction for Lines 4 and 6 were started.

García's administration also invested in the system's older lines: the elevated portions of Line 2 underwent reconstruction due to design flaws in the construction of the capitals and beams, the Talleres metro station was announced to be extended and renovated to increase capacity and to accommodate longer trains, and twenty-two new rail cars for Line 1 were ordered to replace the oldest vehicles.

Roads and highways
García proposed new highways to enhance state connectivity, particularly facilitating direct access to the Laredo–Colombia Solidarity International Bridge in order to redirect cargo trucks around the Monterrey metropolitan area, eliminating the need for trucks to cross into Tamaulipas to reach the United States. As part of this initiative, Nuevo León State Highway 1 underwent phased reconstruction, addressing the highway's deteriorated condition, with the project costing more than MXN $170 million. Additionally, the Gloria-Columbia highway, a project proposed with the international bridge's construction in 1992, was completed at a total cost of MXN $1.11 billion.

A 45-kilometer extension of Anillo Periférico, which was left incomplete by the previous administration, was completed, requiring an investment of MXN $1.8 billion.

Water
García continued the construction of Liberty dam started by his predecessor in early 2020, which was 25% complete by García's inauguration in October 2021. In July 2023, García closed the dam's gates, and by April 2024, began extracting water for use in the Monterrey metropolitan area.

In 2023, García proposed the El Cuchillo II aqueduct, funded publicly and privately at MXN $12.24 billion, in order to transport more water from the El Cuchillo reservoir to the Monterrey metropolitan area. In late 2023, García and Andrés Manuel López Obrador inaugurated the aqueduct in two phases, with a capacity to transport up to 5,000 liters per second.

Response to the Nuevo León water crisis
In March 2022, in response to the low water levels in Nuevo León's three main reservoirs, García's administration implemented the "Agua para todos" (in English: "Water for everyone") water rationing program, which divided the Monterrey metropolitan area into seven zones, each with distinct water supply schedules. However, protests and blockades erupted in various parts of the metropolitan area, as demonstrators claimed that there was an unequal distribution of water, with some areas experiencing water shortages lasting several weeks.

García started cloud seeding with silver iodide in order to increase the chances of rainfall over the state's main reservoirs. Between June 2022 and December 2023, 161 flights were conducted at a cost of MXN $135 million. Some commentators labeled the effort ineffective and a waste of taxpayer money, pointing out that on some days, there was little to no rainfall after the cloud seeding.

García often expressed dissatisfaction with social media criticism regarding the alleged mismanagement of water distribution, dismissing the situation and emphasizing that water supply issues were beyond the scope of his gubernatorial responsibilities.

Relationship with the Congress of Nuevo León
The 2021 local elections in Nuevo León resulted in a minority government with a supermajority opposition consisting of the Institutional Revolutionary Party and the National Action Party. This often led to disputes between the governor and the legislative branch, which were mediated and resolved by the judicial branch.

Attorney general dispute
On 5 October 2022, Gustavo Adolfo Guerrero resigned as state attorney general, triggering the appointment process for a successor. Out of 65 candidates, the state congress narrowed down to four finalists, including Adrián de la Garza, former municipal president of Monterrey and candidate in the 2021 gubernatorial election. However, García vetoed de la Garza, citing concerns about his qualifications, referencing Monterrey's heightened insecurity during his tenure and accusing him of manipulating institutions and laws for personal gain during the gubernatorial election.

On 15 November 2022, García appealed to the Supreme Court, citing irregularities in the selection process, such as the absence of criminal record checks for candidates and the lack of gender parity in the finalist list. On 14 February 2024, the Supreme Court ruled the selection process unconstitutional, finding that the commission responsible for choosing finalists had unconstitutionally altered candidate requirements by omitting the need for criminal record checks. The court invalidated the list of finalists and instructed the congress to restart the selection process.

Attempts to limit the powers of the executive branch
In early 2023, the state congress approved several constitutional amendments that stripped various powers from the executive branch: Decree 340 eliminated the governor's veto over attorney general finalists and introduced a censure motion enabling the legislative branch to dismiss the governor's cabinet; Decree 341 shifted control of the Public Defender office from the executive to the judicial branch; and Decree 342 mandated the governor to seek permission to leave the state for more than three days. García refused to publish the amendments in the Official Journal and appealed to the Supreme Court; however, the court mandated their publication, which García has refused to comply with.

2023 Nuevo León political crisis
In October 2023, García requested a six-month leave, effective December 2, to run in the 2024 presidential election, proposing Javier Navarro Velasco as his replacement. Despite the Congress of Nuevo León approving García's leave, they appointed Arturo Salinas Garza, the President of the Superior Court of Justice of Nuevo León, as interim governor, leading to a dispute. García contended the appointment was "illegal" and insisted that Navarro was meant to be the interim governor.

On November 13, Supreme Court Justice Javier Laynez Potisek annulled the appointment of Arturo Salinas Garza, citing a violation of the separation of powers since Salinas belonged to the judicial branch. The state congress was directed to designate a new interim governor. On November 29, the state congress convened to appoint Luis Enrique Orozco, the Deputy Attorney General, as interim governor. While the vote was underway, a group of citizens supporting García stormed the legislature, setting off a smoke bomb in the chamber. With the support of 25 out of the 42 state deputies, Orozco was named interim governor from December 2, 2023 to June 2, 2024. On December 1, the Supreme Court validated Orozco's appointment.

On December 2, the day García's leave took effect, Orozco officially assumed the interim governorship. Shortly thereafter, García declared his withdrawal from the presidential election, contending that he retained the governorship as he did not use his leave. The state congress asserted that the leave was valid, and a vote was required to revoke it. From December 2 to December 4, both García and Orozco claimed the governorship, leading to a constitutional crisis pending resolution through a legislative session or a Supreme Court ruling. However, on December 4, Orozco resigned, and the state congress confirmed García's reinstatement.

Political positions
García claims that Mexico's federal funding favors southern states despite northern states, like Nuevo León, contributing more to the treasury, controversially stating that "in Mexico, in the north, we work, in the center, they administer, and in the south, they rest". According to García, Mexico allocates money based on population, deprivation, and poverty, whereas in the rest of the world, it is typically done based on efficiency, GDP, productivity, and foreign trade.

García has expressed that he is not opposed to the legalization of marijuana, and has also expressed support for same-sex marriage, stating that "legal precedent recognizes and affirms their right."

As senator, García supported abortion, stating that "it's a complex issue, and I believe that a woman's right to decide should weigh more heavily." However, as governor of Nuevo León, García expressed opposition to it, urging the Congress of Nuevo León to reintroduce a previously removed paragraph to the state's constitution that acknowledged the beginning of life from conception.

He has criticized the political right, saying: "I believe that the political right or center-right seeks to achieve merit but at the expense of the most disadvantaged."

Doctoral Degree at ITAC University
In June 2020, he was accused of falsifying the documentation accrediting the Doctorate in Tax Law he obtained at ITAC University, a private educational center in the city of Monterrey. Samuel García had shared photographs of his postgraduate degree and a certificate of honorable mention on the social network Instagram, but several users later pointed out the inconsistency of the ITAC University rector's signatures on both documents and the similarity of one of these with the signature of the vice-rector of the same institution. In his defense, Samuel García published a video in which he argued that the discrepancy was presented by an unofficial document, that he had completed his doctorate in due time and form, and that the person who had signed this document was, in fact, the vice-rector, since the rector was on sick leave. Subsequently, local media Info7 reported that ITAC University had ceased to function and that its facilities were abandoned.

Male chauvinism
On August 9, 2020, Samuel García, during an Instagram Live told his wife Mariana Rodríguez: "Turn up the camera, you're showing too much leg. I married you for me, not for you to go around showing". Many women in protest uploaded photos showing their legs on Twitter using the hashtag #YoEnseñoLoQueQuiera. García later apologized and affirmed that it was only a macho joke.

Family
García is the eldest of three siblings: Silvia Catalina, Cecilia, and Roberto. Additionally, he has an older half-brother, Samuel Orlando García Villarreal, from his father's previous relationship. He is related to Gilberto García Mena, a former high-ranking member of the Gulf Cartel known as "El June," who is his father's cousin.

Samuel García started dating social media influencer Mariana Rodríguez Cantú in 2015, and were married on 27 March 2020 in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Monterrey. In May 2020, the couple announced that Rodríguez had experienced a miscarriage. They have one daughter, Mariel, born on 10 March 2023.

Publications

 * — (2016). Federalismo fiscal en México: políticas para mejorar las finanzas públicas (Fiscal federalism in Mexico: policies to improve public finance). Editorial Porrúa.
 * — (2018). La gran reforma hacendaría de los mexicanos (The great tax reform of the Mexicans). Procesos Editoriales Don José.
 * — (2020). Nuevo León Frente a la pandemia (Nuevo León faced with the Pandemic).