Mario López Valdez Explained

Mario López Valdez
Office:Governor of Sinaloa
Term Start:January 1, 2011
Term End:December 31, 2016
Predecessor:Jesús Aguilar Padilla
Successor:Quirino Ordaz Coppel
Birth Date:18 January 1957
Birth Place:Cubiri de la Loma, Sinaloa
Party:National Action Party

Mario López Valdez (born January 18, 1957), popularly known as Malova, is a Mexican businessman and politician, and a member of the National Action Party. He was a senator for the state of Sinaloa from 2006 to 2010 and municipal president of Ahome Municipality from 2002 to 2004. He served as Governor of Sinaloa[1] from 2011 to 2016.

Background

Mario López Valdez, a native of Cubiri de la Loma, Sinaloa, is an accounting graduate of the Technological Institute of Los Mochis (ITLM). In 1984, he founded the MALOVA hardware store chain.[2]

Political career

In 2002, López Valdez was elected municipal president of Ahome Municipality, whose capital is Los Mochis. In 2005 Governor Jesús Aguilar Padilla appointed him secretary of Planning and Development in the state government. He was elected to the Senate in 2006, representing Sinaloa for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), where he served on the Regional Development and the Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries, and Agriculture and Water Resources commissions. On March 19, 2010, he resigned his membership in the PRI to run for governor of Sinaloa for the PAN. He was elected July 4, 2010, defeating PRI candidate Jesús Vizcarra Calderón, a wealthy businessman and Culiacán municipal president who had been linked to local drug traffickers, including Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.[3]

As governor, López Valdez was accused of corruption and links to organized crime.[4] [5] In July 2014, he supported a bill that barred journalists from covering crime and public safety stories. However, López Valdez pledged to repeal the law just a few days after its unanimous passage in the state legislature, following a national outcry.[6]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Gov. of drug-plagued Mexico state send kids abroad. November 25, 2011. Angola Press. 2 December 2012.
  2. Web site: Ferretería MALOVA: Historia. Ferretería MALOVA. 1 September 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150730223939/http://www.malova.com.mx/pag/Historia.html. 30 July 2015.
  3. News: Wilkinson. Tracy. Ellingwood. Ken. Suspicions of drug ties don't hurt candidates. https://web.archive.org/web/20110401130120/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/04/world/la-fg-mexico-narco-politics-20100703/2. dead. April 1, 2011. 1 September 2014. The Los Angeles Times. 4 July 2010.
  4. News: Johnson. Tim. On drug lord's Mexican turf, lines blur among cops, pols, cartel. 1 September 2014. McClatchy DC News. 27 February 2014.
  5. News: Valdez Cárdenas. Javier. Los ataques al Noroeste, responsabilidad del gobernador: desplegado de accionistas. 1 September 2014. La Jornada. 6 April 2014.
  6. News: Tucker. Duncan. Mexican governor backtracks on state censorship after media outcry. 1 September 2014. Latin Correspondent. 8 August 2014.