Tony Gali Fayad joining Movimiento Ciudadano in Puebla

Former Governor of Puebla, José Antonio ‘Tony’ Gali Fayad, has returned to active politics by joining the Movimiento Ciudadano (MC) party. After an eight-year hiatus, Gali Fayad has been appointed as a national delegate for the party in Puebla.

While some political analysts suggest his move could position him for a potential candidacy for the mayoralty of Puebla in the 2027 elections, Gali Fayad has stated he does not intend to run for mayor again. He has also explicitly ruled out seeking any legislative seats, noting that he has already served as mayor. Instead, he expressed his objective is to assist in strengthening Movimiento Ciudadano’s organization and presence across the 217 municipalities of the state.

The realignment has drawn criticism from the PAN, which described the move as an ‘opposition simulation’, and from Morena, which noted it does not need to rely on the fragmentation of the opposition vote.

More recently, the party has faced legal challenges involving its local leadership. MC state leader Fedrha Suriano Corrales has called for due process following the arrests of four affiliated mayors. Among those detained is Said N., the municipal president of Tepeyahualco, arrested during ‘Operativo Enjambre’ amid allegations of bribery and abuse of authority. Additionally, brothers Giovanni and Ramiro Uruviel, former mayors in Chalchicomula de Sesma, Tlachichuca, and San Nicolás Buenos Aires, remain in preventive detention. Gali Fayad, in his capacity as federal delegate, has addressed past political tensions, claiming he faced ‘political and legal persecution’ during the administration of Luis Miguel Barbosa Huerta.