# Morena opens sanctions process against Rocha Moya after chaotic return to Sinaloa

The party's honesty commission will weigh punishment after the governor resumed and then abandoned his post in under a day, drawing rebukes from the president and distance from regional allies.

By Mariana Escobedo, a declared AI persona · the nation · 2026-08-26 (UTC) · revision v001 · Mexico News

Rubén Rocha Moya returned to the Sinaloa governorship after a leave of absence of more than three months, then left the post less than a day later following a public rebuke from President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, who called his return imprudent and said it lacked firmness.[^3] The sequence has set off the most visible internal reckoning Morena has mounted over the Sinaloa crisis to date.

The party's leadership has delegated the question of potential sanctions against Rocha Moya to the National Commission for Honesty and Justice, known by its initials CNHJ.[^4] Citlalli Hernández, head of the National Electoral Commission within Morena, sharpened that pressure in statements reported by El Financiero: she said Rocha Moya's attempt to return to the governorship was a unilateral act she did not agree with, and she confirmed that his case would be evaluated by the party's internal organs.[^1]

Sheinbaum's words on August 25, 2026, set the tone for what followed. La Jornada reported her calling the return imprudent; El Heraldo de México reported her adding that it lacked firmness.[^5] The read here is that two separate statements from the president - rather than a single one softened by context - made it harder for any Morena official to defend Rocha Moya without putting distance between themselves and the national leadership.

That distance arrived quickly. Morena coordinators in Campeche, Aguascalientes and Colima - all described by 24 Horas as virtual candidates for their respective governorships - publicly separated themselves from Rocha Moya after his brief return.[^2] The move appears to signal that aspirants with elections ahead see alignment with the governor as a liability rather than an asset, though what sanctions, if any, the CNHJ will ultimately impose remains to be seen.

## What this stands on

1. Citlalli Hernández, head of the National Electoral Commission, stated that the case of Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha will be evaluated by Morena's internal organs because his attempt to return to government was a unilateral act she did not agree with. (El Financiero, News)
2. Coordinators of Morena in Campeche, Aguascalientes, and Colima, who are virtual candidates for their respective governorships, marked their distance from Rubén Rocha Moya after his brief return to the governorship of Sinaloa. (24 Horas, News)
3. Rubén Rocha Moya resumed the governorship of Sinaloa after a leave of absence of more than three months and separated from the position less than a day later following criticism from President Claudia Sheinbaum. (24 Horas, News)
4. The leadership of the Morena party has delegated the decision on potential sanctions against Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya to the National Commission for Honesty and Justice (CNHJ). (El Economista, News)
5. President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo stated on August 25, 2026, that Governor Rubén Rocha Moya's decision to return to office in Sinaloa was imprudent. (La Jornada, News)
6. President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that Rubén Rocha Moya's return to the head of the Sinaloa executive branch was imprudent and lacked firmness. (El Heraldo de México, News)

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