Religion Roman Catholicism | Ex-spouse Silvia González | |
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Preceded by Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz Born December 28, 1957 (age 59)
Ejido Pablillo, Galeana, Nuevo León, Mexico ( 1957-12-28 ) Political party Political independent; previously affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Party Institutional Revolutionary Party Children Jaime Lisenco Rodríguez, Emiliano Rodríguez Parents Rodolfo Rodríguez, Lichita Calderon Siblings Adex Caleb Rodríguez Calderón, Narcedalia Llaney Rodríguez Calderón, Gilma Rodríguez Calderón Similar Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz, Fernando Elizondo Barragán, Ivonne Álvarez, Andrés Manuel López Ob, Enrique Peña Nieto Profiles | ||
Jaime Heliodoro Rodríguez Calderón (born 28 December 1957 in Galeana, Nuevo León), sometimes referred to by his nickname El Bronco, is the Governor of the northern state of Nuevo León. He is the first independent candidate to have won a governorship in Mexico. He served as mayor of García, Nuevo León (2009–2012) as a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and was best known for his hard-line stance against organized crime. Rodríguez won the 2015 race for Governor as an independent candidate on June 7, 2015, winning half the votes of the election compared to his traditional party competitors, who split the remainder of the votes. He will serve as governor until 2021.
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Early life
Jaime Heliodoro Rodríguez Calderón was born on December 28, 1957, in Pablillo Ejido, a municipality of Galeana, Nuevo León. He was the fourth of ten children born to Lichita Calderon and Rodolfo Rodríguez.
Rodríguez attended primary school at Squadron 201 in Ejido Pablillo. He attended secondary school at Miguel Hidalgo in Galeana.
Rodríguez majored in Agricultural Engineering in the Autonomous University of Nuevo León and graduated in 1982. According to Jaime, this was made possible by Don Protacio Rodriguez, owner of Transportes Tamaulipas (now Grupo Senda). Don Protacio gave Rodríguez a card that allowed him to travel to Monterrey for his studies. Toward the end of his studies he performed a symbolic strike at the university, calling on governor Alfonso Martínez Domínguez to increase support for public transportation. After the strike, and with the support of the governor, he established a scholarship for poor students struggling to pay for their education.
Upon graduation, he joined the Institutional Revolutionary Party and worked for Governor Martinez Domínguez.
Career
Rodríguez was a member of the PRI for 33 years and served as a federal deputy in 1992, local MP in 1997, and Mayor of García.
During his term as mayor of García, Rodríguez was the target of violent attacks. The 2013 El Bronco sin Miedo ('The Bronco Without Fear') recounted the attacks.
In the 2015 election, Rodríguez ran against Ivonne Alvarez (PRI) and Felipe Cantu (PAN). He first expressed an interest in running as an independent candidate on 3 December 2014. By the second week of January his supporters collected 150,000 signatures, exceeding the 103,000 required to meet the 3% of the population minimum for independent candidates to get on the ballot. By February he had more than 334,000 signatures. Election authorities officially added his name on 2 March.