Luis Donaldo Colosio Riojas

Luis Donaldo Colosio Riojas (born 31 July 1985) is a Mexican lawyer and politician who serves as a senator from Nuevo León. A member of Citizens' Movement, he previously served as a deputy in the Congress of Nuevo León from 2018 to 2021 and as mayor of Monterrey from 2021 to 2024. He is the son of Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta, a presidential candidate who was assassinated at a campaign rally in Tijuana in 1994.

Early life and education

Colosio was born on 31 July 1985 in Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, to Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta and Diana Laura Riojas. His father and grandfather were both politicians affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), with his father being the PRI's presidential candidate for the 1994 election. His mother was an economist. Colosio has a younger sister named Mariana.

When Colosio was eight years old, he and his sister became orphans after their father was assassinated at a campaign rally in Tijuana in 1994, followed by their mother's death from pancreatic cancer eight months later. The siblings were then adopted by their maternal aunt and uncle, Hilda Elisa Riojas and Fernando Cantú, and moved to Monterrey, Nuevo León.

Education

Colosio attended the Mexico City campus of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, where he earned a Bachelor of Laws in 2010. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in corporate law from the University of Monterrey.

Early political career

Colosio was initially discouraged by his family from pursuing a political career. In 2006, he received an offer to be a candidate for plurinominal deputy, which he rejected.

Shortly after graduating as a lawyer in 2010, Colosio co-founded the law firm "Basave Colosio Sánchez" with Agustín Basave Alanís, Alejandro Basave, and Manuel Sánchez O’Sullivan. At the firm, they began providing parliamentary consultancy services to various politicians. It was during this time that he made contact with leaders of Citizens' Movement, who offered him a candidacy for an elected office in the 2018 elections, a proposition he ultimately accepted in 2017.

In January 2018, Samuel García, the then coordinator of Citizens' Movement in Nuevo León, introduced Colosio as a candidate for a popularly elected office, either at the federal or state level.

Local deputy

Colosio was nominated by Citizens' Movement as a candidate for the 4th district of Nuevo León in the 2018 state election. He won with 33.41% of the votes, defeating the incumbent, Arturo Salinas Garza, by 6.78 points. He was the only candidate from Citizens' Movement to secure a seat through first-past-the-post voting in the election.

On 1 September 2018, he was sworn in as a member of the LXXV Legislature of the Congress of Nuevo León.

Municipal president of Monterrey (2021–2024)

Election

On 15 November 2020, Citizens' Movement announced that Senator Samuel García and Colosio were seeking the party's gubernatorial nomination. García was selected as the gubernatorial nominee, and on 25 January 2021, Colosio registered as a precandidate for municipal president of Monterrey instead. He won the election with over 47% of the vote in an eight-way race, beating his nearest opponent by over 16 points.

Tenure

Colosio was inaugurated on 29 September 2021 at 11:55 p.m.

During his first year, Colosio enjoyed an approval rating of 54.4%, according to ''¿Cómo Vamos Nuevo León?''. However, his approval rating dropped by 23 points in 2023, largely due to the slow pace of construction projects and a perceived rise in crime, becoming the lowest-rated mayor in the Monterrey metropolitan area.

On 16 February 2024, Colosio took a leave of absence to pursue one of Nuevo León's Senate seats in the 2024 elections. He temporarily handed over his duties to Betsabé Rocha Nieto on 29 February, secured a Senate seat, resumed his role as mayor on 4 June, and stepped down as mayor on 22 August, with Francisco Donaciano Bahena Sampogna taking his place as acting mayor.

Urban design and parks

Colosio launched the ''Corredores Verdes'' (in English: Green corridors) initiative to make Monterrey more walkable by expanding sidewalks, improving crosswalks, adding bike lanes, and planting trees along key downtown avenues. However, the initiative faced criticism for causing traffic disruptions due to lane closures and delays in construction. Drivers also voiced frustration over reduced lanes and parking along the reconfigured avenues.

Infrastructure improvements and maintenance were carried out on several Monterrey landmarks, including the '' Mirador del Obispado'', the ''Faro del Comercio'', and the '' Barrio Antiguo''. A roundabout was constructed around the city's Independence Arch to protect it from vehicles.

To address the lack of green spaces in Monterrey, Colosio rehabilitated numerous neighborhood parks across the city. Larger parks, including Parque Lago and Parque Alameda, were also reforested and rehabilitated as part of these efforts. Fundidora Park and Parque España were connected with the ''Puente Verde'' (in English: Green Bridge), a pedestrian bridge spanning the .

Roads

Between 2022 and 2023, the Monterrey government repaved about 729 thousand cubic meters of pavement throughout the municipality, covering eight of the city's major avenues and streets in 46 different neighborhoods.

Crime and policing

Colosio introduced the security strategy named ''Monterrey Protege'' (in English: Monterrey Protects), which expanded police coverage from 177 to 343 neighborhoods, installed 6,000 security cameras, placed panic buttons throughout the city, and added 444 patrol cars to the police force. Colosio also increased police salaries by 15% at the beginning of his term and implemented an additional 20% raise in February 2024.

Despite his efforts, the homicide rate in Monterrey has remained relatively unchanged during Colosio's tenure, only decreasing from 226 to 223 annual deaths between 2021 and 2023. However, there has been a decrease in the perception of insecurity, with 69.8% feeling unsafe in December 2022 and only 58.6% feeling unsafe in December 2023, the lowest since 2016. Confidence in the police has also increased from 64.9% to 68.2% between 2022 and 2023.

Senate of the Republic (2024–present)

Election

In the 2024 Mexican Senate election, Colosio and Martha Herrera González were nominated by Citizens' Movement to represent Nuevo León in the Senate, with Colosio leading the party's two-name formula. In a close three-way race, Colosio and Herrera garnered 32.13% of the vote, placing second to Sigamos Haciendo Historia's formula, which garnered 33.95%, and ahead of Fuerza y Corazón por México's, which received 31.51%. As the first in his party's formula, Colosio won a seat through first minority.

Tenure

Upon being sworn in, Colosio was chosen as one of four secretaries in the Senate's Board of Directors for the first session of the LXVI Legislature.

References

Further reading

* Castañeda, Jorge G. ''Perpetuating Power: How Mexican Presidents Were Chosen''. New York: The New Press 2000.
* Krauze, Enrique, ''Mexico: Biography of Power''. New York: HarperCollins 1997.

External links

Official web siteOfficial Facebook page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colosio Riojas, Luis Donaldo
Living people
1985 births
Mexican people of Italian descent
Mexican people of Basque descent
Mexican people of Catalan descent
Citizens' Movement (Mexico) politicians
Members of the Congress of Nuevo León
Municipal presidents of Monterrey
Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education alumni
Politicians from Sonora
21st-century Mexican politicians
People from Magdalena de Kino