The Auditoría Superior de la Federación has launched an investigation into an extensive network of electoral material suppliers linked to José Alfredo Hernández Casillas, following disclosures that multiple companies tied to the conglomerate secured contracts across 13 state electoral institutes alongside the Instituto Nacional Electoral, El Universal reported.
According to El Universal, the conglomerate of companies controlled by the Hernández Casillas brothers received more than one billion pesos starting in 2014 from at least 13 Organismos Públicos Locales Electorales. The investigative findings indicate that part of the modus operandi involved positioning multiple related entities as competitors in various bidding processes to secure favorable outcomes, effectively simulating open competition.
The National Footprint Across Local Electoral Institutes
Beyond the federal contracts awarded by the INE, parallel patterns of procurement emerged in states including Sonora, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Estado de México, and Quintana Roo. In Sonora, local electoral institute president Nery Ruiz Arvizu has maintained institutional ties with former INE leader Guadalupe Taddei dating back to 2014. Despite certain vendors exiting the roster in earlier years, companies such as Cajas Graf continued securing recent awards, including a nearly 30 million peso contract for judicial election materials.
Similar intersecting administrative histories appeared in Oaxaca, where Corporativo Zeg secured multimillion-peso contracts during a period overseen by former executive secretary Iliana Araceli Hernández Gómez.
In Quintana Roo, contracts investigated by federal auditors included a nearly 30 million peso award granted in 2022 under former presiding councillor Mayra San Román Carrillo Medina, followed by additional procurements in 2025 awarded to Litho Formas during the tenure of Rubí Pacheco Pérez. In the Estado de México, long-serving executive secretary Francisco Javier López Corral authorized substantial acquisitions, including a 57 million peso contract for the 2023 gubernatorial election awarded to a joint proposal submitted by Gráficas Corona, Formas Inteligentes, and Litho Formas.
Parallel Financial Traces and Historical Precedents
Detailed analysis of official procurement documents by Milenio revealed that four primary provider entities investigated by federal authorities—Cajas Graf, Corporativo Zeg, Formas Finas y Materiales, and Diseño, Reconstrucción y Comunicación—accumulated tracked contracts totaling at least 482 million pesos across nine states and Mexico City. Cajas Graf alone accounted for over 334 million pesos in documented awards spanning jurisdictions like Jalisco, Coahuila, Quintana Roo, and Veracruz.
Further records published via the Plataforma Nacional de Transparencia and reported by La Jornada indicate that the broader network of suppliers tied to Hernández Casillas received at least 49 contracts between 2018 and the previous year, totaling roughly mil 450 million 443 mil 771.40 pesos. These awards originated prior to Guadalupe Taddei assuming leadership of the INE in 2023, extending back through the administration of former President Enrique Peña Nieto when the federal council was headed by Lorenzo Córdova.
State Responses and Ongoing Federal Audits
Regional electoral bodies have responded differently to the unfolding federal scrutiny. In Aguascalientes, where the Instituto Electoral del Estado was examined regarding past contracts with Cajas Graf, Corporativo Zeg, and Formas Finas y Materiales, presiding councillor Clara Beatriz Jiménez González stated that the local audits concluded without official observations from the federal auditor.
“Si alguna autoridad competente determina una investigación o solicita información formal sobre contratos pasados o presentes en el Instituto Electoral de Aguascalientes, pues actuamos con total apertura y estricto apego a la ley”, sostuvo Jiménez González.
Jiménez González defended the local procurement process, noting that the pool of private producers specializing in electoral materials remains small and that acquisitions followed established public acquisition laws overseen by an evaluation committee. Meanwhile, the Auditoría Superior de la Federación continues its comprehensive review to determine the full extent of public resource utilization, potential conflicts of interest, and the mechanisms behind the reported contract allocations.
