Baja California’s Electoral Justice Tribunal has sanctioned Tecate Mayor Román Cota Muñoz for placing 30 illegal advertising signs during his 2024 campaign, ordering him to pay a fine of 10,857 pesos (roughly $540 USD). The ruling, issued two years after the original complaint, found that Cota violated a 2021 state electoral reform that banned the use of billboards and banners in political campaigns.
Billboard Ban and Coalition Fines
According to the tribunal’s decision, Cota placed 18 billboards and 12 advertising banners during his campaign for the Tecate municipal presidency. The 2021 reform, backed by Morena and approved by Baja California’s state congress, explicitly prohibits candidates from using large-format outdoor advertising.
Cota’s coalition partners received significantly steeper penalties. Morena, the Partido Verde Ecologista de México (PVEM), and Fuerza por México Baja California were each fined 108,570 pesos (about $5,400 USD) for failing to supervise their candidate’s conduct. Under Mexican electoral law, this liability is known as “culpa in vigilando,” a legal principle that holds political parties responsible for monitoring the behavior of their nominees.
The complaints were originally filed by two opposition parties: Movimiento Ciudadano and the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI).
Child’s Image Allegation Dismissed
The tribunal also considered a separate accusation that Cota illegally used a minor’s image in his campaign materials. Cota told the court the child was his own son and submitted signed consent forms from both parents, along with official identification and a birth certificate. The tribunal accepted the explanation and cleared him on that charge.
A Symbolic Fine, Two Years Late
At roughly 362 pesos (about $18 USD) per sign, the penalty for the billboard violations amounts to a token sanction. The tribunal’s own documents note that the case took two years to resolve, a timeline that raises questions about the speed of electoral enforcement in the state. Cota won the 2024 race and has been governing Tecate throughout the complaint process.
Cota has drawn scrutiny from multiple directions during his time in office. State legislators, including members of his own Morena party, have publicly criticized his administration over tax collection policies, spending, and public security in Tecate, a city of roughly 110,000 people located about 35 miles southeast of San Diego.
The ruling was first reported by Punto Norte.