Overview

• A federal judge issued an inapelable order on July 31 to reinstate Gerardo Octavio Vargas Landeros as Ahome’s mayor for the 2024–2027 term with a 48-hour compliance deadline.
• The ruling guarantees Vargas Landeros’s full exercise of duties, payment of emoluments and access to institutional resources until the main amparo case is resolved.
• The decision follows a July 29 suspension that halted the Congress of Sinaloa’s May removal of Vargas Landeros amid a corruption inquiry into patrol-car purchases.
• His earlier removal triggered a chaotic succession of three interim mayors—including Rosa Margarita Velázquez and Antonio Menéndez de Llano Bermúdez—during which municipal councilors reported intimidation.
• Observers say the case reflects a broader power struggle under Governor Rubén Rocha Moya, whose administration has used legislative and prosecutorial tools to unseat non-aligned local officials.