Demetrio Javier Sodi de la Tijera (; born September 25, 1944) is a Mexican journalist, businessman and politician who has served in the

upper Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...

and

lower Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also *Nizhny Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́� ...

houses of the

Congress of the Union The Congress of the Union ( es, Congreso de la Unión, ), formally known as the General Congress of the United Mexican States (''Congreso General de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is the legislature of the federal government of Mexico con ...

, and as head of

Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican W ...

borough from 2009 to 2012. In 2006, he unsuccessfully ran as the National Action Party (PAN) candidate for the

Head of Government of the Federal District The Head of Government ( es, Jefe de Gobierno) wields the executive power in Mexico City. The Head of Government serves a six-year term, running concurrently with that of the President of the Republic. Mexico City, or CDMX, is the seat of natio ...

. A member of the

Sodi family The Sodi family is a Mexican political family that is prominent in Mexican politics, law, art, and entertainment. The progenitor of the family, Carlos Sodi, emigrated from Florence to the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca in the 19th century. The ...

, he is the cousin of the actress and singer

Thalía Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda (; born 26 August 1971), known mononymously as Thalía, is a Mexican singer and actress. Referred to as the " Queen of Latin Pop", she is considered one of the most successful and influential Mexican artists. Havi ...

Early life and education

Demetrio Javier Sodi de la Tijera was born on September 25, 1944 in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. He is the son of Demetrio Sodi Pallares, a cardiologist, professor and prominent researcher in the field of electrocardiography, and Soledad de la Tijera Alarcón. Sodi studied business administration at the

Universidad Iberoamericana The Ibero-American University ( es, Universidad Iberoamericana), also referred to by its acronym ''UIA'' but commonly known as ''Ibero'' or ''La Ibero'') is a private, Catholic, Mexican higher education institution, sponsored by the Mexican provi ...

and pursued graduate studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Political career

Sodi began his business activities in Grupo Cifra where he worked from 1962 to 1975. In 1977, he entered the

public service A public service is any Service (economics), service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through pub ...

. At the national level, he coordinated social support programs at Conasupo and was the managing director of Diconsa stores, where he increased the number of stores between 1978 and 1982 from 3,200 to 16,000. He was General Coordinator of Supplies and Food Distribution at the

Federal District A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they ...

Department from 1982 to 1987. In the private sector, his professional career was developed at the

Aurrerá Aurrerá (word from the Basque language "aurrera" which means "forward") is a defunct grocery chain in Mexico. It started operations in 1958 in Mexico City, and folded in 2001 after being acquired by Walmart. During 2001 and 2002, the remainin ...

supermarket chain (since bought out by

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarte ...

). Sodi has been a member of three main

political parties in Mexico Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

. On September 1, 1988, he was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon ...

, where he served as an

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, ; abbr. PRI) is a political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 and held uninterrupted power in the country for 71 years, from 1929 to 2000, first as the Nati ...

(PRI) deputy, representing the Federal District's 25th

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

, from 1988 to 1991 during the LIV Legislature. On November 15, 1991 he took up the position of Representative for the Assembly of Representatives of the Federal District. In 1993, he conceived, planned and organized members from all political parties and citizen organizations to demand for the first plebiscite to achieve more democracy in

, by pressuring the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

to establish popular and democratic elections for the

Head of Government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

. He would serve on this position until November 14, 1994. That same year in April, he resigned from the PRI, and would go on to join the

Party of the Democratic Revolution The Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD, es, Partido de la Revolución Democrática, ) is a social democratic political party in Mexico. The PRD originated from the Democratic Current, a political faction formed in 1986 from the Institut ...

(PRD) three years later. On September 1, 1997 he was elected to serve once again to the

, representing the Federal District's 26th district; then, in 2000 he was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

and served during the LVIII Legislature and the LIX Legislature. In 2005 he resigned from the PRD and was nominated by the National Action Party as its candidate for head of government in the 2006 Federal District local elections, being defeated by

Marcelo Ebrard Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubón (; born 10 October 1959) is a Mexican politician who is serving as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico. Affiliated with the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) since 2018, he was appointed to lead the ...

. During his electoral campaign for Head of Government, Sodi wrote a book entitled "The Inclusive City" where he analyzes, diagnoses and offers government proposals for the Federal District. The book was co-authored by renowned urban researchers such as: Emilio Pradilla Cobos, Lisett Márquez López, Elias Fonseca Chicho and Alejandro Castro. In 2009, Sodi won the elections for head of

borough in Mexico City, over his opponents

Ana Guevara Ana Gabriela Guevara Espinoza (born March 4, 1977) is a Mexican former track and field athlete who specialized in the 400 meters and is the 7th fastest female 300-meter runner in the world, running 300 meters in 35.3 seconds on May 3, 2003. She ...

(PRD), and Martín Olavarrieta (PRI) with 39.33% of the vote. He would become a columnist for the newspaper El Universal and host of the Contrapunto program by Televisa. He chairs the organization Metrópoli 2025, a civil association that currently brings together more than 200 scholars, researchers, businesspeople and politicians worried about the future of the

Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico wa ...

References

External links

Demetrio Sodi, Candidato al gobierno de la Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal
official website

biography
Sodi blog
blog
Metrópoli 2025
official website of the civil association
PAN-DF
official website of the National Action Party in the Federal District.

daily news from '' El Universal'' about Demetrio Sodi {{DEFAULTSORT:Sodi, Demetrio 1944 births Living people Universidad Iberoamericana alumni Harvard University alumni Politicians from Mexico City Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) Members of the Senate of the Republic (Mexico) Demetrio Mexican people of Spanish descent Mexican people of Italian descent Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians Party of the Democratic Revolution politicians National Action Party (Mexico) politicians 21st-century Mexican politicians 20th-century Mexican politicians