Aldana wins election as head of Pemex union despite criticism

Ricardo Aldana has been elected as head of the union representing workers at Mexico’s national oil company (NOC) Pemex.

In videos posted on social media sites on January 31, union representatives reported that Aldana, who currently serves as the union’s treasurer, had won in a landslide against 25 other candidates. One of the representatives, named as Carlos Maldonado, stated that Aldana had drawn 52,000 votes after 72,000 members registered to participate in the election. (Other sources put the number closer to 45,000 but said that the second-place candidate had only won about 4,500 votes.)

Maldonado, for his part, noted that the official results were still being processed but named Aldana as the victor. “But I am going to get ahead, the winner is ... Ricardo Aldana,” he was quoted as saying by the Reforma newspaper.

The vote marked the first time in Pemex’s 86-year history that union members had ever been given the opportunity to choose their next leader via direct election. It was held a week after rival candidates for the post lashed out at Aldana at a news conference.

Two rival candidates blasted the treasurer for his plan to continue running the union along the same lines as one of his predecessors – Carlos Romero Deschamps, who stepped down from his role in 2019 after being investigated for using illicit funds. Maria Cristina Alonso called out Aldana by describing his agenda as camouflaged to carry on the corruption of Carlos Romero Deschamps.” She went on to say: “[How] dare they try to represent us?”

Meanwhile, Daniel Aranda chose to focus on Aldana’s personal wealth, claiming that the treasurer may have taken part in the embezzlement of union funds in an effort to assist the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Both Aldana and Deschamps are members of PRI, which was the ruling political party of Mexico for much of the 20th century. “It's all been robbery, looting... They live in sumptuous houses, homes with yachts, even with airplanes or helicopters,” Aranda exclaimed.

Five candidates spoke at last week's news conference, receiving an opportunity to express their views to tens of thousands of eligible voters. Among these candidates was Aldana, who pledged to focus his efforts on implementing new accountability and transparency measures, improving workers’ quality of life and increasing productivity. The remaining candidates received opportunities to speak later in the week.