This weekend, Mayor Adrián de la Garza debated former mayor Luis Donaldo Colosio over Next Energy, a company whose legacy in Mexican politics is becoming increasingly complicated. While De la Garza faces a media onslaught, in Baja California, another failed project has (for now) blocked the personal ambitions of Jaime Bonilla, both with interests in participating in their respective electoral processes in 2027. During their respective administrations, Bonilla and De la Garza sought to capitalize on the sun that shines once again on Monterrey and Mexicali, some of Mexico's hottest cities, by creating large photovoltaic projects with the promise that this new energy source would not only bring security to families in both regions but also act as an investment magnet. However, both forced subsequent administrations to pay for the projects, leaving the applause for Bonilla and De la Garza but curtailing the possibilities of Marina del Pilar Ávila and Luis Donaldo Colosio, something neither of them seemed to like. The difference is that De la Garza and Colosio are from opposing political projects. When Avila Olmeda announced the cancellation of the project, as well as an investigation and a legal process to recover the 172 million pesos that had been charged by the bank Afirme as part of the original agreement, Bonilla was also from Morena. The Next Energy case in Baja California has become a very useful tool for the administration of Marina del Pilar, as it has served as a reference for all the criticisms that the current state administration has of the previous one: the lack of care with government protocols, the commitment of resources on a multi-year basis, and the lack of political tact to reach agreements. Furthermore, the arrest of two company representatives last year helped the governor of Baja California to show political muscle in difficult times of her administration. Between her divorce from former PANist Carlos Torres and the withdrawal of her visa, continuing a legal process against her most complex political rival gave her necessary victories in the public eye. Now, Colosio seems to have taken notes on what happened in Baja California, using the Next Energy case to confront De la Garza, whose electoral ambitions are not legally tied to the case but are beginning to complicate his future with a media yoke around his image. While De la Garza defends himself in the media and seeks to thwart Colosio's ambitions while strengthening his own, Bonilla was disqualified from holding public office for three years by the State Administrative Justice Tribunal. He will have to testify on March 5 in the initial hearing for the municipal government's lawsuit, at the same time as he works to restructure the PT in the state for the 2027 elections. On the horizon is the case of Aguascalientes, where Next Energy was involved in a public-private partnership with the municipal administration led by then PANista mayor Teresa Jiménez. Now, in the state, the owner of the company, the regio Eugenio Javier Maiz Domene, has been in preventive prison since December 2025.
