Movimiento Ciudadano - Explainer

Formerly known as Convergencia por la Democracia (Convergence for Democracy), later shortened to Convergencia (Convergence) in 2002, and finally named Movimiento Ciudadano (Citizens’ Movement) in 2011, MC is a center left-wing party founded in 1999 by former Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party) governor Dante Delgado and civil society groups. Described as a social-democratic party, MC traditionally has been pro-business and advocates for economic restructuring via reduced regulation. The party favors the free-market system and supports state intervention to ensure equitable distribution of goods and services. 

Throughout the early 2000s, MC allied with other political parties, such as Partido de la Revolución Democrática (Democratic Revolution Party), Partido del Trabajo (Labor Party), Partido Alianza Social (Social Alliance Party), and Partido de la Sociedad Nacionalista (Nationalist Society Party), which allowed the party to secure the 2 percent of the votes needed to retain its registration, while also strategically growing its name recognition and popularity. One of MC’s first major victories came in the 2015 midterm elections when MC candidate, Enrique Alfaro, won the mayorship of Guadalajara. A significant turning point for the party came in 2018 when Alfaro won the governorship of Jalisco and two years later, Samuel García, won the governorship of Nuevo León. As of October 2023, MC has declined to join either of the major party coalitions (Juntos Hacemos Historia and Frente Amplio por México) for the 2024 presidential elections. 

Currently, MC holds 27 seats (nearly 5% of all seats) in the federal Chamber of Deputies, 12 seats in the federal Senate (9.6% of all seats), 37 state legislator positions, and two of Mexico’s governorships (Jalisco and Nuevo León).