The INE reprimands the PRD for improperly affiliating three citizens

The General Council of the National Electoral Institute imposed a public reprimand on the Party of the Democratic Revolution for having improperly affiliated three citizens without their consent. The resolution, identified by the key INE/CG52/2020 and case file UT/SCG/Q/JAFG/JD02/BCS/91/2018, is published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on Thursday, September 17, 2026, Section I, page 68, in order to make the sanction effective once it becomes final.

The agreement was approved in an ordinary session of the General Council held on February 21, 2020, with eight votes in favor and two against; specifically, regarding the sanction, the project was approved by seven votes in favor and three against. The ruling had been unanimously endorsed in the Second Urgent Extraordinary Session of the Complaints and Denunciations Commission on February 17, 2020. The resolution bears the signatures of the Counselor President, Lorenzo Córdova Vianello, and the Secretary of the General Council, Edmundo Jacobo Molina.

The case originated from four written complaints filed in March 2018 by citizens who alleged they had not given their consent to be members of the PRD, as well as the improper use of their personal data. The case file was compiled on April 6, 2018, and the complaint by Danira Eneyda Barajas Bautista was split on July 17, 2018, to be processed under the separate procedure UT/SCG/Q/JGRS/CG/130/2018.

The complainants and affiliation dates

• Juan Antonio Flores Geraldo, complaint dated March 16, 2018; affiliation registered by the DEPPP on October 12, 2010, in Baja California Sur.
• Laura Ambrosio Vázquez, complaint dated March 16, 2018; affiliation dated August 14, 2010, in the State of Mexico.
• Erick Rodríguez Rincón, complaint dated March 26, 2018; affiliation dated June 3, 2010, in Mexico City.

What the INE proved

The General Council concluded that the PRD did not demonstrate that the will of the three citizens existed to be enrolled in its membership roll. In the case of Flores Geraldo, the affiliation form provided by the party lacked a handwritten signature, an essential element to prove consent. In the cases of Ambrosio Vázquez and Rodríguez Rincón, the forms exhibited corresponded, according to the party, to a supposed renewal with a date later than that reported by the DEPPP, without the original affiliation form being presented.

The fault was classified as intentional and of ordinary gravity, without recidivism, and the violation of the right to free affiliation provided for in articles 35, fraction III, and 41 of the Constitution, as well as the unauthorized use of personal data, was considered proven.

The sanction and the purging of the roll

The General Council imposed the sanction provided for in Article 456, paragraph 1, subsection a), fraction I, of the LGIPE, consisting of a public reprimand, instead of the fine that had been applied in similar cases. As a mitigating factor, it considered that the PRD removed the complainants from its registry and complied with Agreement INE/CG33/2019, which ordered the review, updating, and systematization of membership registries between February 1, 2019, and January 31, 2020, a process through which more than 9 million records were eliminated.

The determination may be challenged through the appeal resource provided for in Article 42 of the General Law of the System of Means of Challenge in Electoral Matters, and it orders the personal notification of the three citizens and the party.

The resolution confirms that parties must preserve and exhibit the documentation proving the voluntary affiliation of their members, and that the burden of proof lies with the political institute, not the citizen. For readers, the case establishes a criterion regarding the integrity of the party registry and the right not to be incorporated into a political organization without express consent.

Source: Official Gazette of the Federation, September 17, 2026, Section I, p. 68 (official reference: INE/CG52/2020).