José Francisco Yunes Zorrilla

José Francisco Yunes Zorrilla is the Fuerza y Corazón por México (Strength and Heart for Mexico) candidate for the governorship of Veracruz. Born in Perote, Veracruz in 1969, he holds a bachelor’s degree in administration from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and two master’s degrees, one in public policy from the ITAM and the other in public administration from Columbia University.  

Yunes’ affiliation with the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) began in 1987. A decade later, he served as an adviser to the Secretariat for Governance in Veracruz. From 1998 until 2000, he served as municipal president of Perote, Veracruz. Upon the conclusion of his term, he was elected as a federal deputy for the PRI. From 2004 until 2007, Yunes was a local deputy and in 2005, was the PRI’s presidential campaign coordinator for Veracruz. He ran for a seat in Mexico’s senate in 2006 but lost the election. He subsequently returned to local PRI politics, serving on the PRI’s Comité Ejecutivo Nacional (National Executive Committee) as Secretary of the Environment. From 2007 until 2008, Yunes served as President of the PRI’s Comité Directivo Estatal (State Directive Committee). A year later, he returned to the national congress as a federal deputy until 2012 and served as a senator from 2012 until 2018. This is Yunes’ third campaign for the governorship of Veracruz, following his previous candidacies in 2016 and 2018.