MP News Staff

PAN candidate and ex-Tijuana Mayor Jose Osuna has apparently won the election for governor of Baja California over Jorge Hank of the once-dominate PRI. A persistent cloud of accusations has followed Hank, who was mayor of Tijuana from 2004 to 2007,  for years, with the press reporting on  his associations with organized crime and the drug cartels. The flamboyant Hank, a wealthy businessman and the son of ex-Mexico City mayor Carlos Hank Gonzales, has repeatedly denied the negative reports.

Baja California has long had a high-voter participation, but now is amongst the lowest in Mexico as the people of the state have become disillusioned with border violence, contentious politics and graft within the state. Osuna will serve a six-year term, presuming he stays healthy and alive.