Gerardo Fernández Noroña

José Gerardo Rodolfo Fernández Noroña (born 19 March 1960) is a Mexican politician and sociologist from the Morena party, formerly from the Labor Party and the Party of the Democratic Revolution. He is known for his protest acts, especially starting with the 2006 presidential election. He was a federal deputy on two occasions (2009–2012 and 2018–2023) and in 2018 he was nominated by the Labor Party to run as a candidate for the presidency of the Republic within the "Together We Make History" coalition for the 2024 federal elections.[3]

Gerardo Fernández Noroña
Fernández Noroña in 2023
President of the Senate of the Republic
Assumed office
1 September 2024
Preceded byAna Lilia Rivera
Senator of the Republic
Proportional representation
Assumed office
1 September 2024
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
for Mexico City's 4th district
In office
1 September 2018 – 15 June 2023
Preceded byErnestina Godoy Ramos
Succeeded byVacant
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
for the Federal District's 19th district
In office
1 September 2009 – 31 August 2012
Preceded bySilvia Oliva Fragoso
Succeeded byAleida Alavez Ruiz
Personal details
Born
José Gerardo Rodolfo Fernández Noroña

(1960-03-19) 19 March 1960 (age 64)
Mexico City, Mexico[1]
Political partyMorena (2024–present)
Other political
affiliations
Labor Party (2009–2024)
Party of the Democratic Revolution (1994–2008)[2]
Alma materUniversidad Autónoma Metropolitana (BA)
OccupationSociologist, politician
Signature

Biography

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Political career

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In 1983, he earned a degree in Sociology at the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM).[4][5][6]

He was an external candidate for federal deputy for the Mexican Socialist Party in 1988 and joined the National Democratic Front (DFN), before it became the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).[7] In 1995 he led the creation of the Citizen Assembly in Defense of Bank Debtors, an organization that defended those who, due to the economic crisis suffered that year in Mexico, had seen their debts multiply by their bank loans. He led the protests, including one in 1996 in Cancún in front of President Ernesto Zedillo, for which he was imprisoned for a few days, but he was released shortly after because the then national president of the PRD, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, intervened.[7] He continued in the grassroots organization for the party until 2004, the year in which he was named communications secretary of the national executive committee of the PRD headed by Leonel Cota Montaño and therefore became spokesperson for the party.[5][7]

During the 2006 presidential campaigns, during the post-electoral conflict that followed, he held protests against the electoral fraud denounced by his party and its candidate López Obrador, as well as in places where outgoing and incoming presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón were.[8]

From 2009 to 2012 Fernández Noroña served as deputy in the 61st Congress, representing the Federal District's 19th district.

His conflicts with members of the Presidential General Staff during the Calderón administration stemmed from his numerous demonstrations at official functions that he attended. In 2009, he was already a deputy when he was denied access to the third state of the nation report. He accused the Calderón government of causing these incidents and alleged death threats.[9] As a deputy once more, he was barred from viewing one of Enrique Peña Nieto's state of the nation reports, which was produced at the National Palace, and he also encountered federal police personnel as a result of his protests.[7]

2012 to present

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In August 2012, Fernández Noroña began a tour to promote a movement against the triumph of the candidate for the Presidency of the Republic Enrique Peña Nieto. He also proposed the creation of a new left-wing political party, the Movimiento de Izquierda Libertaria.[10]

On 15 September 2012, an assembly was held in the Mexico City's Zócalo at which Balfre Vargas Cortez, Rosendo Marín Díaz and Gerardo Fernández Noroña announced what they called an "Appeal to the people of Mexico", a document in which drafted the action plan against an alleged imposition by Peña Nieto through peaceful civil disobedience.

On 1 April 2015, Gerardo Fernández Noroña, leader of the National Assembly for the Independence of Mexico (ÁNIMO), was an (external) candidate for multi-member federal deputy for the Labor Party (PT). Fernández Noroña carried out a national campaign, calling to vote and supporting the PT candidates. He concentrated his campaign on visiting with particular emphasis the fourth electoral region, for which he was a candidate, and which includes the Federal District, Puebla, Guerrero, Morelos and Tlaxcala.

In reference to the alliance that the Labor Party made in some entities with the PRI and the PAN, Fernández Noroña stressed that these alliances are local, he does not agree with them, and that he would only run as a PT candidate. He also expressed that despite strong pressure, the PT has remained firm by not agreeing to sign the Pact for Mexico and by voting against all structural reforms.

In 2016, he denounced the aggression and theft of cell phones by the undersecretary of government of Puebla, Luis Arturo Cornejo, in the administration of Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, when he was trying to mediate to free political prisoners.[11]

He was elected again to the Chamber of Deputies in in 2018, representing Mexico City's 4th district for the Labor Party, and he was re-elected to the same seat in 2021.[12]

In September 2023, Noroña was appointed by Claudia Sheinbaum to be in charge of coordination tasks and strengthening the link with social organizations and civilians and a key spokesperson for the Juntos Hacemos Historia coalition in the 2024 general elections.[13]

He was elected to the Senate as a Morena national-list senator in the 2024 election.[14] At the start of the legislative session in August 2024, he was elected president of the Senate.[15]

Controversies

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  • On 21 May 2021 Noroña went to the office of Twitter Mexico to protest about the blocking of his account, due to violations. He was widely criticized after video surfaced of the incident, where he was shown to abuse the Twitter member of staff who received him. Noroña said in a belligerent tone: "I come to protest, if you don't like it because you think it's going to be docked from your wages then do not pose as if you were the owner."[16]
  • In July 2021, he tested positive for COVID-19. He had been criticized for spreading COVID-19 misinformation, such as stating that face masks are not helpful in avoiding the spread of the virus. In January 2022, he tested positive for the second time.[17]
  • On 15 April 2024, in response to the raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito, Noroña lodged a formal complaint against President Daniel Noboa of Ecuador with the Attorney General of Mexico, seeking his extradition for the violation of diplomatic premises. The Attorney General's office received the complaint but did not comment.[18][19]

References

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  1. ^ "Perfil: Dip. José Gerardo Rodolfo Fernández Noroña, LXI Legislatura". Sistema de Información Legislativa (SIL). SEGOB. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  2. ^ Morales, Alberto (28 November 2008). "Renuncia Fernández Noroña a militancia perredista". El Universal. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  3. ^ Occidental, Viridiana Saavedra | El. "Fernández Noroña buscará la candidatura presidencial en 2024". El Sol de México | Noticias, Deportes, Gossip, Columnas (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  4. ^ Digital, Expansión; Luna, Dolores (2022-07-27). "Quién es Fernández Noroña, qué hace y por qué quiere ser presidente en 2024". ADNPolítico (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  5. ^ a b Camhaji, Elías (2023-06-26). "Gerardo Fernández Noroña, el factor disruptivo". El País México (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  6. ^ "Registro Nacional de Profesionistas".
  7. ^ a b c d Trejo, Roberto (2023-06-16). "Gerardo Fernández Noroña: ¿Quién es, dónde estudió y cuáles han sido sus mejores pleitos?". Reporte Indigo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  8. ^ "Detienen a Fernández Noroña por "alterar el orden público" - La Jornada". www.jornada.com.mx. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  9. ^ "Amenaza de muerte, a Fernández Noroña". www.proceso.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  10. ^ "Noroña encabeza el Movimiento de Izquierda Libertaria, inicia registro - ComunicaCarmen.com". comunica.org.mx. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  11. ^ "Roban celular y subsecretario de Gobierno agrede a Fernández Noroña - Puebla". La Jornada de Oriente (in Spanish). 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  12. ^ http://sil.gobernacion.gob.mx/Librerias/pp_PerfilLegislador.php?SID=&Referencia=9226233#Perfil
  13. ^ Rojas, Arturo (September 13, 2023). "Sheinbaum nombra a Gerardo Fernández Noroña coordinador de vocerías". La Economista.
  14. ^ "Perfil: Sen. José Gerardo Rodolfo Fernández Noroña, LXVI Legislatura". Sistema de Información Legislativa (SIL). SEGOB. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Gerardo Fernández Noroña será el próximo presidente de la mesa directiva del Senado; dice que "respetará a la oposición"". Animal Politico. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Fernández Noroña va a oficinas de Twitter a reclamar el cierre de su cuenta". El Imparcial (in Spanish). 21 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  17. ^ "Fernández Noroña se contagia de COVID-19 por segunda vez". El Financiero (in Spanish). 20 January 2022. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  18. ^ Tinoco Morales, Omar (2024-04-15). "Fernández Noroña denuncia ante FGR al presidente de Ecuador y pide su extradición". infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  19. ^ "Fernández Noroña denuncia en FGR al presidente de Ecuador". Nación321 (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-04-15.