Aristóteles Sandoval

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Sandoval and the second or maternal family name is Díaz.

Aristóteles Sandoval
Governor of Jalisco
In office 1 March 2013 – 5 December 2018
Preceded by	Emilio González Márquez
Succeeded by	Enrique Alfaro Ramírez
Municipal president of Guadalajara
In office 1 January 2010 – 11 January 2012
Preceded by	Juan Pablo de la Torre Salcedo
Succeeded by	Francisco Ayón López
Personal details
Born	Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval Díaz (1974-01-22)22 January 1974 Guadalajara, Jalisco
Died	18 December 2020(2020-12-18) (aged 46) Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Manner of death	Assassination
Political party	Institutional Revolutionary Party
Spouse	Lorena Arriaga

Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval Díaz (22 January 1974 – 18 December 2020) was a Mexican politician belonging to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He served as Governor of Jalisco from 2013 to 2018.

On 18 December 2020 he was assassinated in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.^[1]

Education and personal life

Aristóteles Sandoval was the son of Leonel Sandoval and Sagrario Díaz. His father was a magistrate for the Supreme Court of Justice of the State of Jalisco.^[2]

He completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Guadalajara.^[3] He also has a degree in law from the University of Guadalajara and a master's degree in politics and public development from the Western Institute of Technology and Higher Education.

He was the head of the University of Guadalajara student organization, the Federation of University Students (FEU) and directed the PRI youth organization, the Revolutionary Youth Front (FJR) of Guadalajara.^[4]

Political activity

Between 2001 and 2003, he was an alderman for the City of Guadalajara and a member of the Councillor Commissions of Justice (as president), Sports and Youth Care (president), Finance and Budget, and Urban Development. As an alderman, he proposed the creation of the Municipal Institute of Youth Care.

In 2003, he was elected as a state delegate for District XI of Guadalajara, presiding over the Commission of Finance and Budget for the LVII Congress of Jalisco. He held this position until 2006. After that, he was the PRI's 2006 mayoral precandidate for Guadalajara, but declined in favor of Leobardo Alcalá Padilla.

Municipal President of Guadalajara

In the 2009 Jalisco state elections, he won the municipal presidency of Guadalajara for the term lasting from 2010 to 2012. He competed against Jorge Salinas Osornio of the National Action Party (PAN). The city was governed by the PRI for three consecutive terms. At age 35, he became the youngest municipal president to have governed the city of Guadalajara.

Governor of Jalisco

Gubernatorial election

On 11 January 2012,^[5] Aristóteles Sandoval requested to leave the municipal presidency in order to register himself as a gubernatorial candidate for the state of Jalisco. He ran on behalf of a coalition formed by the PRI and the Mexican Green Party, called Compromiso por Jalisco. The city council appointed Jesús Ayón López as interim municipal president in his place. In this way, he competed in the 2012 Jalisco state elections against candidates Enrique Alfaro Ramírez of the Partido Movimiento Ciudadano, Fernando Garza Martínez of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, Fernando Guzmán Pérez Peláez of the National Action Party and María de los Ángeles Martínez Valdivia of the New Alliance Party. The campaign began on 30 March 2012.

The election was conducted on 1 July 2012. The results provided by the Programa de Resultados Preliminares (PREP) declared Sandoval the winner with 98% of the votes counted and a margin of 4 percentage points over the closest contender, Enrique Alfaro Ramírez. Regardless, the election results were challenged by the Movimiento Ciudadano party, but the challenge was dismissed by the Jalisco Electoral Tribunal, ratifying the election of Sandoval as governor. As a consequence, on 8 July 2012, Sandoval received certification on behalf of the Instituto Electoral and from Participación Ciudadana, declaring him as governor elect.

Gubernatorial term

On 1 March 2013, Sandoval was sworn into office, officially assuming the governorship of Jalisco.^[6]

Assassination

On 18 December 2020, Sandoval had dinner at the Distrito 5 restaurant in the centre of Puerto Vallarta with three other people. During that time, Sandoval was shot and critically injured from behind in the restaurant bathroom. After the shooting, his two bodyguards tried to take him to the hospital. Other gunmen appeared and opened fire, killing Sandoval and wounding one of the bodyguards.^[7][8][9]

A march demanding the release of two restaurant employees who had been arrested on 30 December 2020 for altering the crime scene was organized on social media in Jalisco.^[10]

Killing of suspect

On 22 April 2022, the Mexican Army gunned down and killed the alleged mastermind of Sandoval's assassination, Saúl Alejandro Rincón Godoy, a.k.a. "El Chopa" or "Señor de Vallarta", in the streets of the Marina Vallarta District, in Puerto Vallarta, State of Jalisco. Wounded, "El Chopa" was taken to a clinic of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), where he died hours later.^[11][12][13]

See also

• List of municipal presidents of Guadalajara
• Governor of Jalisco
• Cabinet of Aristóteles Sandoval

References

1. "Former Mexican governor of Jalisco killed in attack". Reuters. 18 December 2020. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
2. "Integración del Supremo Tribunal de Justicia del Estado de Jalisco". Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
3. Gutiérrez Franco, Laura. "Conociendo a Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval". Axópolis. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
4. "Perfil de Aristóteles Sandoval". El Informador. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
5. "Pide licencia edil de Guadalajara" (in Spanish). 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
6. Ramírez, Zaira. "Toma protesta Aristóteles como gobernador de Jalisco". El Informador. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
7. "Mexico violence: Security raised in Puerto Vallarta after ambush". 21 December 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
8. Tomas Bravo (18 December 2020). "Ex-governor of cartel-ravaged Mexican state gunned down in beach resort". Reuters. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
9. "¿Qué sabemos del asesinato del exgobernador de Jalisco, Aristóteles Sandoval?". El Universal (in Spanish). 18 December 2020. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
10. Reza M., Gloria (9 January 2021). "Marcharán para exigir liberación de detenidas por caso Aristóteles Sandoval". proceso.com.mx (in Spanish). Proceso. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
11. "National Guard Kills "El Chopa", Leader of the CJNG Cartel in Puerto Vallarta". Vallarta Daily. 23 April 2022. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
12. "Confirman la muerte de "El Chopa", líder del CJNG ligado al asesinato de Aristóteles Sandoval". Proceso (in Spanish). 23 April 2022. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
13. "Muere el presunto autor intelectual del asesinato de Aristóteles Sandoval, exgobernador de Jalisco". Sopitas [dot] com (in Spanish). 23 April 2022. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.

Political offices
Preceded by Juan Pablo de la Torre Salcedo	Municipal president of Guadalajara 2009–2012	Succeeded by Francisco Ayón López
Preceded by Emilio González Márquez	Governor of Jalisco 2012–2018	Succeeded by Enrique Alfaro Ramírez