Overview
- Rubén Rocha Moya briefly resumed the governorship on August 21, then 34 hours later filed a new indefinite temporary leave that the Sinaloa Diputación Permanente approved unanimously on August 23.
- The license triggers a process in the state Congress to select and swear in a provisional governor to cover the remainder of the term while the legislature schedules an extraordinary session to decide the replacement.
- Rocha’s return and rapid second leave intensified fractures inside Morena and prompted public distancing by President Claudia Sheinbaum and other party leaders, while opposition parties demanded judicial and parliamentary steps such as juicio político and a possible declaration of desaparición de poderes.
- Citizens and business groups staged protests at the state palace and urged lawmakers to appoint an interim governor with independence, experience and moral solvency rather than a Rocha ally, and the Congress postponed an early session to decide the replacement.
- Separately, federal prosecutors ordered Fernando Farías Laguna held with preventive detention at Cefereso Altiplano on organized‑crime charges, with a linkage‑to‑process hearing scheduled for August 26 as broader anti‑smuggling and cartel prosecutions continue.