Somos Party Files 63-Page INE Complaint Against Sheinbaum

The political party Somos filed a formal complaint on Wednesday, Nov. 11, with the National Electoral Institute (INE, Mexico’s federal election authority) against President Claudia Sheinbaum, members of her cabinet, several state officials and the ruling Morena party. The 63-page document accuses them of improper interference in the 2027 elections and asks the INE to order precautionary measures.

Mexico City’s head of government, Clara Brugada, is among those named, so the complaint reaches the capital’s government directly. Nothing in it has been ruled on yet, and neither the INE nor any court has found an infraction.

What Somos alleges

According to Publimetro México, the complaint says officials used institutional spaces and public money to discredit the party. It points in particular to statements linking Somos to an alleged corruption network in electoral procurement. The filing cites possible breaches of the principles of impartiality, neutrality and electoral fairness, and alleged electoral slander.

The dispute traces back to the president’s morning press conferences on Nov. 5, 6 and 9. On Nov. 5, Anticorruption and Good Governance Secretary Raquel Buenrostro presented research on companies tied to the Hernández Casillas brothers, who have supplied electoral bodies for decades. A presidential statement said the open-source research found links between businesspeople, former electoral officials and people now taking part in Somos. Sheinbaum used the phrase “mafia electoral” and said authorities should investigate the contracts. On Nov. 6 she defended her remarks and said she had evidence for them.

Somos says the backgrounds of some of its members do not show involvement in wrongdoing, and calls the government’s statements a collective accusation that harms its reputation. It also objects to a Morena press conference on Nov. 10, where party leaders repeated the accusations.

The legal basis is Article 134 of the Constitution, which requires public servants to manage resources impartially and without affecting fairness among parties. Publimetro noted that this does not stop authorities from informing the public about investigations. The question for the INE is whether the content, context and spread of the messages broke the neutrality rule.

Who is named

Publimetro counts Sheinbaum plus 13 officials: Buenrostro, 11 state governors and Brugada. It lists the governors of Sinaloa, Tlaxcala, Tabasco, Colima, Puebla, Veracruz, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Chiapas, Yucatán and Sonora. El Universal reports 12 governors plus Buenrostro and names Durango instead of Sonora, so reports differ on that point. The complaint also names Morena and asks for an investigation of anyone responsible for spreading the claims.

What the party asks the INE to do

Somos wants precautionary measures that would bar the president, the named officials and Morena from repeating specific corruption accusations against it when there is no verifiable support. It also asks the INE to examine the use of public resources, government platforms, staff and infrastructure to spread those statements, and to obtain transcripts, recordings and records of related posts.

At a news conference at the INE’s headquarters, Somos leader Emilio Álvarez Icaza said the Constitution bars public officials from speaking for or against any party. Legal director Carlos Ferrer said Sheinbaum has raised electoral matters in at least three morning conferences. Álvarez Icaza said the party will turn to other legal channels if electoral authorities do not stop the conduct it describes.

The response from Somos members

Edmundo Jacobo Molina, a former executive secretary of the INE and now a Somos member, rejected the accusations about contracts made during the terms of Leonardo Valdés and Lorenzo Córdova. He said several oversight bodies reviewed them and told critics they could audit again. He also said former electoral officials have the right to take political positions as citizens, and he criticized INE president Guadalupe Taddei and councilor Jorge Montaño over what he described as closeness to Morena. El Universal did not report a reply from either.

What it means for the 2027 race

The complaint puts the INE in the position of judging statements by the president and by governors, including the head of Mexico City’s government, ahead of the 2027 vote. A ruling on precautionary measures would decide whether those officials can keep repeating the accusations while the case continues.

What happens next

The INE’s Technical Unit for Electoral Disputes will review the complaint and decide on next steps. The Complaints and Denunciations Commission would weigh the request for precautionary measures. The merits of the case belong to the Specialized Regional Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal. The case number and the INE’s first decision have not been made public.

Sources: Publimetro México, El Universal