### Crónicas Tijuanenses: The First Political Shift in Baja California
Thirty-five years ago, Baja California experienced its first political shift. In 1989, Tijuana celebrated its centennial, having been recognized on July 11, 1889, as its “virtual foundation” date after two symposiums in 1975 and 1976. That year also marked a significant political transformation for the state.
The change sparked on January 6 when Mayor Federico Valdés informed his officials that President Carlos Salinas, newly instated, had appointed Governor Xicoténcatl Leyva as Deputy Commissioner in Washington, prompting him to request a leave of absence from his gubernatorial duties. Speculations surged among officials and journalists alike. Some believed this appointment was retribution against Leyva for his backing of Lic. Barlett during the presidential succession or due to Engineer Cárdenas’s victory in the 1988 presidential election in Baja California. This marked the beginning of the decline for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in the state.
A few days later, the question emerged: who would run for governor in the 1989 election? The PRI selected Margarita Ortega de Villa, a Mexicali native with an impressive track record. On the other hand, the National Action Party (PAN) chose Ernesto Ruffo Appel, born in San Diego and an entrepreneur and mayor of Ensenada. The campaign was tumultuous for the PRI, with numerous setbacks, seemingly sabotaged from within. Meanwhile, Ruffo’s popularity grew, aided significantly by the support from the local publication Zeta amidst shared governmental pressures.
The outcome is well-known: Ruffo won, securing the majority of the state congress and municipalities, turning Baja California blue. Talks of a “concertacesión” between Salinas’s administration and PAN surfaced, suggesting it was a maneuver to bolster Salinas’s democratic image by recognizing the first PAN governor. PRI’s president, Colosio, swiftly acknowledged PAN’s victory amidst heckling from young PRI members who chanted against him. This political shift introduced an era that lasted 30 years.
### Additional Article: Political Landscape of Baja California
Supporting the significance of this political shift, other reports indicate that the PAN’s victory in Baja California was part of a broader national trend favoring opposition parties amid widespread dissatisfaction with the PRI. The local elections in Baja California served as a litmus test, showcasing the public’s desire for change and the weakening grip of the PRI on Mexican politics.
This sentiment resonated across the nation, progressively leading to more regions embracing opposition parties. The strategic alliances and symbolic gestures, such as the involvement of influential local media, underscored a coordinated effort by the opposition to dismantle the PRI’s longstanding dominance. As observed in later elections, the shift in Baja California emboldened other states to challenge the status quo, setting the stage for the eventual rise of multipartidism in Mexican politics.