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Rodolfo Torre Cantú

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Rodolfo Torre Cantú
Picture of Torre Cantú during his campaign
Personal details
Born(1964-02-14)February 14, 1964
Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico
DiedJune 28, 2010(2010-06-28) (aged 46)
Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Political partyInstitutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)
Alma materUniversidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas
ProfessionPhysician, politician

Rodolfo Torre Cantú (February 14, 1964 – June 28, 2010) was a Mexican physician and politician.[1] He held a number of public offices, such as Federal deputy, Secretary of Health of Tamaulipas and Director-general of the DIF (National System for Integral Family Development) in Ciudad Victoria.[2] While running for governor of Tamaulipas as the candidate of the PRI, he was assassinated, apparently by agents of a drug cartel.[3][4][5] Torre was murdered alongside a Tamaulipas lawmaker, Enrique Blackmore, on 28 June 2010 near Ciudad Victoria, which is approximately three hours south of Brownsville, Texas.[1][6][5][7] Felipe Calderón promised a full investigation, saying, "the fight against drug cartels must continue".[1][7] He further stated, "This was an act not only against a candidate of a political party but against democratic institutions, and it requires a united and firm response from all those who work for democracy."[1] Torre's assassination is the "highest-profile case of political violence" in Mexico since the murder of Luis Donaldo Colosio.[1][5]

In early 2012, Tomás Yarrington, the former governor of Tamaulipas from 1999–2004, was accused of being involved in the slaying of Rodolfo Torre Cantú; the ambush that killed Torre Cantú was allegedly carried out by Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, the supreme leader of the Gulf Cartel.[8][9]

Personal life

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Rodolfo Torre Cantú was born in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, the fourth of five children of Ana María Cantú and Dr. Egidio Torre López, a distinguished public servant and PRI activist. He was married to Laura Graciela de la Garza Montoto, with whom he had three children: Laura, Rodolfo, and Paulina.

Education

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Torre studied exclusively in institutions in his native Tamaulipas. He attended primary, secondary, and preparatory schools in Ciudad Victoria and in 1987 graduated from the school of medicine at the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas in Matamoros, gaining the title of surgeon, and served as a professor at the same institution.

PRI activism

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Torre was an activist of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) beginning in 1980, when he joined the National Movement of Revolutionary Youth. Within the party he participated in electoral campaigns at every level – from presidential elections to mayoral and local elections.

Political career

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Torre began his public service career in 1989 as medical coordinator of Banrural in Ciudad Victoria, subsequently becoming regional coordinator for medical services in San Luis Potosí, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. In 1999 he became director general of the municipal DIF system (integral family development) in Ciudad Victoria. In 2004 he was elected a local deputy for the fourteenth district. From 2005 to 2009 he served as secretary of health of the state of Tamaulipas, and oversaw the construction of new, modern health centers.[10] He participated in numerous health campaigns [11] directed at both children and adults, notably a nutritional program aimed at families of limited means.[12]

In 2009 Torre was elected to the 61st legislature[13] of the Chamber of Deputies for the fifth district headquartered in Ciudad Victoria, a district that encompasses the municipalities of Hidalgo, Güemez, Mainero, Padilla, San Carlos, San Nicolás y Villagrán. He received the second highest number of votes in the election.[14]

He served as coordinator of PRI deputies from Tamaulipas and was a member of the health commission.

He proposed a reform to Article 9 of the General Law on Education[15] with the aim of improving national educational models, pointing to Tamaulipas as a national model for the teaching of English in all primary schools.

Candidacy for governor of Tamaulipas

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On March 14 Torre was named PRI candidate for the governorship of Tamaulipas.[16] On April 10 he was named candidate of Todos Tamaulipas,[17] an electoral alliance comprising the PRI, the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM), and the New Alliance Party (PANAL).

Assassination

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On the morning of June 28, 2010, while traveling to General Pedro J. Méndez International Airport to board a flight to the city of Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas, for a campaign event, Torre was murdered along with six of those in his entourage.[3][18]

The deputy for Matamoros, Baltazar Hinojosa Ochoa, and the former governor of the state of Coahuila, Enrique Martínez y Martínez, were booked to travel with Torre Cantú to the airport during the day of his assassination.[19] Nonetheless, Hinojosa and Martínez did not attend, and it is unknown why.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Lacey, Marc (29 June 2010). "Mexican Candidate for Governor Is Assassinated". New York Times. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  2. ^ "Curricula". Sitl.diputados.gob.mx. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Asesinan a Rodolfo Torre Cantú, candidato al gobierno de Tamaulipas". Milenio.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  4. ^ "PRI candidate Rodolfo Torre Cantu killed". Laredo Morning Times. lmtonline.com. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  5. ^ a b c "Gubernatorial candidate gunned down". Brownsville Herald. brownsvilleherald.com. 28 June 2010. Archived from the original on 1 July 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  6. ^ "PRI candidate Rodolfo Torre Cantu killed". Laredo Morning Times. lmtonline.com. 28 June 2010. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  7. ^ a b "Gunfire kills gubernatorial candidate, 3 others in Mexico". CNN. cnn.com. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  8. ^ Castillo, Gustavo (11 February 2012). "La investigación contra Tomás Yarrington, bajo jurisdicción de EU: SG". La Jornada. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  9. ^ "Former Tamaulipas governor named in Texas money laundering case". The Valley Central. 10 February 2012. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  10. ^ "Municipio de González, Tamaulipas | Gobierno del Estado de Tamaulipas". Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  11. ^ "Bienvenidos Al Gobierno Del Estado De Tamaulipas". Salud.tamaulipas.gob.mx. Retrieved 30 June 2010.[permanent dead link‍]
  12. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  13. ^ "Curricula". Sitl.diputados.gob.mx. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  14. ^ "Rodolfo Torre Cantú, precandidato a la gubernatura de Tamaulipas". Milenio.com. 19 January 2010. Archived from the original on 22 January 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  15. ^ "Iniciativas por diputado". Sitl.diputados.gob.mx. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  16. ^ "Rodolfo Torre, candidato del PRI en Tamaulipas - el Universal - Sociedad". Archived from the original on 20 April 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  17. ^ "Partido Revolucionario Institucional::". PRI. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  18. ^ "Ejecutan a candidato del PRI al Gobierno de Tamaulipas". Oem.com.mx. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  19. ^ a b "Enrique Martínez iba a viajar con Rodolfo Torre Cantú". Milenio (in Spanish). 9 July 2010. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
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