Miguel Ángel Mancera Espinosa (; born 16 January 1966) is a Mexican lawyer and politician who has represented the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). He served as the head of government of Mexico City from 2012 to 2018.
Mancera earned his law degree from the Faculty of Law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 1989 and received the Gabino Barreda Medal in 1991 for academic excellence. He holds a master's degree from both the University of Barcelona and the Metropolitan Autonomous University, as well as a Juris Doctor from UNAM. Mancera has taught at several universities, including the UNAM, the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico and the University of the Valley of Mexico.
In 2002, he began working in public service when Marcelo Ebrard, then Secretary of Public Security of Mexico City, invited him to serve as an adviser. In 2006, Mancera was appointed Assistant Attorney General, and from 2008 to 2012, he served as the city's Attorney General. In early 2012, Mancera was selected as the candidate for Head of Government of the Federal District by the Progressive Movement coalition, which included the PRD, the Labor Party, and the Citizens' Movement. In the election held on 1 July 2012, he won with over 66 percent of the vote.
He took office on 5 December 2012. During his mandate, Mancera faced the increase of the Mexico City Metro fare, the first closure of Metro Line 12 due to construction issues, the introduction of the city's constitution, the implementation of new driving regulations, and the 2017 Puebla earthquake. He resigned on 29 March 2018, to run for the Senate, leaving office with the lowest approval rating for a head of government. His administration was scrutinized by his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, who prosecuted multiple crimes allegedly committed during his tenure. Ultimately, Mancera was sanctioned with a one-year disqualification from holding any public office in the city after promoting a presidential candidate while serving as head of government. He served as proportional-representation senator from 2018 to 2024.
Early life and education Miguel Ángel Mancera Espinosa was born on 16 January 1966, in the (neighborhood) of Anáhuac, in the Miguel Hidalgo borough of the Federal District (later known as Mexico City). His father founded the restaurant chain Bisquets Obregón. Mancera has four half-siblings. When he was four, he lived in the of Tacuba, where he attended kindergarten. He later studied at Miguel Alemán Primary School and Secondary School No. 45, both located in the Benito Juárez borough. For high school, he enrolled at Preparatoria 6, part of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
As a teenager, Mancera was involved in a car accident in whicht in which the vehicle he was riding in was hit by another. The public prosecutor's office asked him to sign a document absolving the driver of liability. Mancera refused and took the case to Victoria Adato Green, then-Attorney General of the Federal District. With the help of legal advisor Diego Ramudia, he succeeded in having the driver fined. The experience led him to change his career path from a science-related field to law. He studied at the of the UNAM from 1985 to 1989.
His thesis, "" ("The progressive release of public data on criminal prosecutions and acquittals") earned him the Diario de México Medal "" in November 1990. A year later, in November 1991, he received the Gabino Barreda Medal from the UNAM Faculty of Law for graduating at the top of his 1989 class. Mancera went on to earn a master's degree from both the University of Barcelona and the Metropolitan Autonomous University, Azcapotzalco campus, and later obtained a Juris Doctor from UNAM, with honors. His doctoral thesis was titled "" ("Injustice and disparity in Mexican criminal sentencing"). He also pursued specialized studies in criminal law at the University of Salamanca and the University of Castile-La Mancha, Spain, under the auspices of the Panamerican University, Mexico.
Early political career Mancera has worked as a candidate attorney, lawyer, and adviser at several law firms, including García Cordero y Asociados and Grupo de Abogados Consultores. He has also been a professor at various Mexican universities, including the UNAM, the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, the University of the Valley of Mexico, the Panamerican University, the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, and the Autonomous University of Baja California.
Around 2002, he began working in government when Marcelo Ebrard, then Secretary of Public Security of Mexico City, invited him to serve as an adviser. When Ebrard was later appointed Secretary of Social Development by the head of government Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mancera was named Legal Director of the Social Development Secretariat. In 2006, he was appointed Assistant Attorney General of Mexico City.
Mancera was appointed on 8 July 2008, following the dismissal of Rodolfo Félix Cárdenas due to the New's Divine nightclub tragedy, in which nine teenagers and three police officers died during a failed police operation. According to official reports, crime in Mexico City decreased by 12 percent from 2010 to 2011, while the national crime rate rose by 10.4 percent. During this period, 179 street gangs comprising 706 members were dismantled, and kidnappings dropped by 61 percent.
Head of government of Mexico City 2012 elections
On 6 January 2012, Mancera resigned as Attorney General to run for Head of Government in the 1 July 2012 election. Jesús Rodríguez Almeida succeeded him in the role. Two days later, on 8 January, Mancera registered as a Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) precandidate for head of government of Mexico City. On 19 January, he was named the official candidate, representing the leftist Progressive Movement coalition, which also included the Labor Party, and the Citizen's Movement. He ran against Alejandra Barrales, Gerardo Fernández Noroña, Martí Batres, and Joel Ortega Cuevas.
Mancera's opponents were Beatriz Paredes Rangel, representing the Institutional Revolutionary Party–Ecologist Green Party of Mexico coalition Commitment to Mexico; Isabel Miranda de Wallace, for the National Action Party (PAN); and Rosario Guerra for the New Alliance Party. Late-January polls showed Mancera leading Paredes by 18 to 30 points, though his support dropped nine points the following month. According to El Universal, his favorability rose from 36 percent in March to 41 percent in April, and to 57.5 percent in May. That same month, Adolfo Hellmund, Luis Mandoki, and Costa Bonino allegedly borrowed six million dollars on behalf of Mancera and López Obrador at the home of Luis Creel. Both politicians denied involvement, and Mancera filed a complaint with the Attorney General of Mexico City for unauthorized use of his name.
As candidate, the proposals of Mancera included continuing Ebrard's policies, increasing the number of security cameras from 13,000 to 20,000, reducing car travel times, expanding Mexico City Metro Line 12, addressing solid waste management, removing minibuses from circulation, building 18 water purification plants, implementing a Green Plan, and replacing garbage trucks to enable the separation of organic and inorganic waste, among other initiatives. On 1 July 2012, exit polls indicated Mancera as the likely winner of the election, with an estimated vote share of 59.5–64.5 percent, placing him roughly 40 percentage points ahead of the second-place candidate, Paredes. On 7 July, the Federal District Electoral Institute (IEDF) declared Mancera the Head of Government-elect and issued him a certificate of majority after he secured 3,031,156 votes (66.56 percent of the total) in a landslide victory, which he received on 8 October 2012.
First year
Mancera assumed office on 5 December 2012, as the sixth head of government of the Federal District. On 24 December of the same year, he launched a voluntary disarmament campaign in the borough of Iztapalapa. In exchange for turning in firearms and grenades, participants received money, tablet computers, or home appliances. The program was later implemented across all Mexico City boroughs in the following years. City Mayors Foundation named Mancera the mayor of June 2013. In November 2013, Mancera opened Line 5 of the Mexico City Metrobús running along northeastern Mexico City from Río de los Remedios to San Lázaro metro station.
In the same month, Mancera announced the increase of the Mexico City Metro fare, raising the price from three to five pesos per ride. According to the Metro operator, Sistema Transporte Colectivo, the additional revenue would be used to improve infrastructure and maintain the system's twelve lines and its stations. The fare increase drew criticism from parts of the city's population, who viewed it as a strain on household finances, especially given that the minimum wage in Mexico City was 64.76 pesos as of January 2013. In response, Mancera stated that three polling companies would conduct surveys with 7,200 Metro riders between 29 November and 2 December to gather public opinion—the sample represented less than one percent of the system's 5.5 million daily users. According to polling company results, over 50 percent of respondents supported the fare increase. The new fare was approved to take effect on 13 December. Due to this, through the short-lived Movimiento Pos Me Salto, users called to civil disobedience protests by jumping over the turnstiles. However, Mexico City Government announced they would take legal actions against those who skip them.
Second year
On 11 March 2014, Mancera's administration closed twelve metro stations on Line 12 of the Metro due to construction-related issues. Metro authorities stated the shutdown would last at least six months, or until "the necessary studies, corrections, and maintenance are carried out to ensure user safety". The line had been inaugurated just a few months earlier, on 30 October 2012, by Ebrard. Twelve curves suffered significant damage in their tracks, and there was wear on the rails due to incompatibility with the FE-10 model trains. ICA, Grupo Carso and Alstom, the consortium that built the line, denied any wrongdoing. Bernardo Quintana, president of ICA, described the closure as "arbitrary" and stated that proper maintenance and measures to address the incompatibilities were necessary for the line to function correctly. In addition, the Superior Auditor of the Federation detected a diversion of 7.5 billion pesos from the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation during the construction of the line. Thirty-three officials and former officials, including Enrique Horcasitas, the director of the Line 12 project, were sanctioned with disqualifications from public service, fines, or both, due to project failures and cost overruns. The relationship between Mancera and Ebrard became strained amid efforts to investigate Ebrard for possible corruption, which he described as a smear campaign.
The administration introduced a basic driving test for all new driver's license applicants. Previously, individuals only needed to present identification, proof of residence, and pay a fee, without having to demonstrate any driving knowledge or skill. The environmental program , which restricts certain vehicles from circulating in the city one day a week based on their license plate number, was expanded to two days per week over the course of the year.
Third year
Mexico City's taxis had their traditional green color replaced with a white-and-Mexican-pink color scheme. In May 2015, Mancera signed a law granting universal access to individuals accompanied by assistance dogs. In July, Mancera reshuffled his cabinet, reassigning several secretaries to different positions.