Governor of Sinaloa Rubén Rocha Moya, amidst great fanfare, inaugurated the 34th edition of Expo Agro Sinaloa 2026, the state's largest agricultural forum. He affirmed his determination to ensure that Sinaloan producers can market their crops under the best possible conditions. Accompanied by Mexico's Undersecretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Leonel Cota Montaño, Rocha Moya announced that starting March 15, the price per ton of corn for the state's farmers will be finalized. In the governor's inner circle, they shared the reasons for his bitter expression, which some interpreted as a mix of anger and disappointment. This was due to the absence of Secretary Julio Berdegué. Berdegué's absence also left attendees, mostly people from the agribusiness sector, with the perception that President Claudia Sheinbaum will intervene in the election in Sinaloa and might send her current Secretary of Agriculture to run as a candidate. The central issue for Morena in Sinaloa is that Berdegué's presence had been confirmed, with a message of peace to move past the instability caused by the kidnapping of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada and the wave of violence plaguing Sinaloa due to the war between La Chapiza and La Mayiza. For the Secretary of the Presidential Cabinet, the governor of Sinaloa is 'very burned' by these issues and has also failed to clarify the death of Héctor Melesio Cuén, the rector of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa, who was assassinated on the day that 'El Mayo' Zambada and El Chapo's son, Joaquín Guzmán López, were arrested in Texas. As is widely known in political circles, Julio Berdegué is a close friend of Sheinbaum Pardo's husband, Jesús María Tarriba, who is also from Sinaloa. However, he is not Rocha Moya's favorite, who in turn has two favorites to succeed him as governor: Senator Enrique Inzunza Cázarez, his good friend from past battles, and the mayor of Culiacán, Morena's Juan de Dios Gámez Méndivil. Both guarantee him a trouble-free transition according to the law, and Berdegué's political group is almost non-existent in the state, though the Morena brand is strong in polls, so he might have a chance. Publicly, every time the press has asked him, Berdegué has dismissed any intention of seeking the candidacy for Governor of Sinaloa for the 2027 electoral process.
