Rommel Pacheco is booed during a Morena event in Yucatán

Rommel Agmed Pacheco Marrufo is a Mexican diver. He was the gold medalist in the 10-meter platform at the 2003 Pan American Games. In the 2004 Summer Olympics he finished in 10th place in the 10-meter platform and 3-meter springboard. In the 2008 Summer Olympics he finished in 8th place in the 10-meter platform. 

Pacheco was known as the “PRI’s favorite athlete”, he was awarded the Sports merit Medal more than once by PRI governors Ivonne Ortega and Rolando Zapata.

And after announcing his retirement from the Diving circuit, Rommel Pacheco entered politics in 2021. He joined the National Action Party (PAN) and won a seat in the Chamber of Representatives in the federal elections of that year. As a PAN member, he opposed the energy reform proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his party, Morena.

However, in October 2023, he announced his switch to Morena and his support for Claudia Sheinbaum, the coordinator of the Committees in Defense of the Fourth Transformation and a presidential hopeful (the favorite of Lopez Obrador).

So, on Saturday, October 13th, during an event in Valladolid, people booed the former Olympic diver, Rommel Pacheco, a former member of the PAN, who recently joined the ranks of the Morena party and was accompanied by the Coordinator of the Fourth Transformation Defense, Claudia Sheinbaum. However, the crowd present at the event expressed their discontent with shouts, demanding Pacheco to leave, and calling him a traitor. Let’s keep in mind that many people in Yucatan do not like Morena very much.

It is important to note that Rommel Pacheco has expressed his interest in becoming a candidate for the governorship of Yucatán, and it was the presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum who announced his inclusion in this project.

Sheinbaum visited Valladolid, in the eastern part of the state, with the purpose of presiding over the “swearing-in of Fourth Transformation committees” and the signing of a unity agreement with several local activists.

When Pacheco approached to sign, the aspirants shouted, “Out! Out! Out!” (fuera, fuer fuera), so he had to return to his place.

In response to the criticism that arose after his joining the Fourth Transformation, Rommel Pacheco, who is now a federal representative for Morena, highlighted that Andrés Manuel López Obrador won the 2018 presidential elections by “opening the doors” of the movement to everyone who wants to join in.

During the meeting of Morena Pacheco rejected accusations that his adherence to the Fourth Transformation is driven by personal interests.

“As Claudia said: it’s about adding, supporting, and continuing with this movement, and I thank her for the invitation to her project, I am here to work and contribute,” Rommel Pacheco concluded.

TYT Newsroom