‘Sound of Freedom’ producer Eduardo Verástegui files as candidate for president of Mexico

By Walter Sánchez Silva, David Ramos

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 9, 2023 / 16:00 pm

Mexican actor, producer, and founder of the Viva México Movement Eduardo Verástegui registered Sept. 7 as an independent candidate for the presidency of Mexico in the 2024 elections.

According to electoral regulations, after expressing his intention to run for president to the National Electoral Institute (INE), Verástegui must gather, in no more than 120 days, a number of signatures equivalent to 1% of the list of registered voters in the country distributed over at least 17 states “with an equal percentage in each of them.” This is equivalent to approximately 1 million signatures.

Verástegui, whose film “Sound of Freedom” ranks first at the box office in Latin America, filed his declaration of intention with the INE yesterday.

According to the Mexican newspaper El Universal, upon arriving at the INE office, Verástegui pointed out that candidates Claudia Sheinbaum, from MORENA, the party of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and Xóchitl Gálvez, from the opposition coalition Frente Amplio por México (Broad Front for Mexico), “are the same” and that a change is needed.

“We can see it. We have two candidates who are exactly the same: They dress differently, maybe they eat differently, maybe different ages, but they are the same. Is that the opposition? We cannot allow ourselves to be manipulated,” Verástegui said.

On Sept. 7 Verástegui announced on X: “It’s a fact. Now is the time. After a period of discernment, I made the most important decision of my life: I just filed with the INE my intention as an aspirant to be an independent candidate to the presidency of the Mexican Republic for the elections of June 2, 2024.”

“My fight is for life. My fight is for freedom. It’s time to remove the same old people from power. Our country needs a new way of doing politics in order to eradicate corruption and impunity. There’s still time [to save Mexico]! Let’s go with everything we’ve got, for our Mexico!” he added.

In recent months Verástegui, through his Viva México Movement, has encouraged Mexicans to join his cause through his official website.

Juan Carlos Leal, a pro-life and pro-family politician and former state representative of Nuevo León, expressed his enthusiasm for Verástegui’s candidacy.

“We’re very happy, celebrating Eduardo’s decision to be an aspirant, for this time, for the presidency of the republic. I believe that he has the support, not of hundreds or thousands, but of millions of Mexicans who are in favor of life, family, and fundamental freedoms,” Leal said in a statement to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

After pointing out that by filing to run for office, Verástegui has become a “real option” for conservatives and has set himself apart from the traditional duo of candidates by being a third alternative, Leal wished him the best.

“Let's hope to God that everything goes well and we can gather those million signatures. In Nuevo León, he knows that he is going to count on our support and [our help in] collecting those signatures to move forward,” he concluded.

In a statement to ACI Prensa, Frida Espinosa, co-founder of the Juventud y Vida A.C. platform (Youth and Life), commented: “I find it a very hopeful event that a citizen like Eduardo Verástegui has decided to run for the presidency as an independent because the reality is that the current state of our country is very bad.”

“There is more and more dehumanization and less commitment to the common good on the part of the usual parties,” Espinosa lamented. “It takes a lot of courage to want to decide to run for the presidency.”

“I hope that all of us who are guided by Christian values will be consistent and support him, because, between a supporter of President Obrador and a globalist Marxist, Verástegui represents the greater good,” she concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Walter Sánchez Silva is a senior writer for ACI Prensa (https://www.aciprensa.com). With more than 15 years of experience, he has reported from important ecclesial events in Europe, Asia and Latin America during the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. E-mail: walter@aciprensa.com

Graduated in Communication Sciences from the Universidad Privada del Norte in Trujillo, Peru. I have been part of the ACI Prensa team for more than 10 years. I have covered Pope Francis' trips to Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Peru. I covered the beatification ceremony of today's Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero in San Salvador, El Salvador, in 2015. Special envoy for investigation in Honduras in 2016. Head of the ACI Prensa Office in Mexico since 2018.