The newly elected governor of Sonora, Mexico, met this week with the country’s president. Many hope their close relationship will benefit the state — Arizona’s neighbor to the south.
The meeting was the president’s first with one of the country’s 15 new governors-elect.
Sonora’s Alfonso Durazo had served as security secretary under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador until resigning to begin his campaign for governor.
Durazo says the meeting was meant to ensure federal support for important Sonoran issues, including economic development, infrastructure, mining conflicts and support for the Yaqui tribe.
However, Sonora’s record-setting violence was not on the list of issues the men discussed. Murder rates in the state have risen dramatically in recent years, including while Durazo served as security secretary.
