Alejandra Barrales

María Alejandra Barrales Magdaleno (born 17 July 1967) is a Mexican lawyer and politician and the former president of the Party of the Democratic Revolution. She formerly represented the Federal District (later, Mexico City) in the Senate (62nd and 63rd Legislatures) and also served as a federal deputy and in the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District. In 2019, after a period of relative political inactivity, Barrales announced her resignation from the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) alongside Senator Juan Zepeda of the State of Mexico. On February 19, 2024, it was officially announced that she would be a candidate for her former seat in the Senate of the Republic, representing the Citizens' Movement (Mexico) party.

Early life and education Alejandra Barrales was born 17 July 1967 in Mexico City and grew up in Michoacán. Both of her parents worked, her father as a bus driver, thus she was frequently responsible for caring for her two younger siblings. Her Master's thesis was called "The professionalization of legislative bodies: The case of the Federal District Legislative Assembly" ("La profesionalización de los órganos legislativos. El caso de la Asamblea Legislativa del DF”)

Career Her early career took place in the aviation industry. She was a head flight attendant for Aeroméxico between 1998 and 2000 She was its press secretary from 1989 to 1991 and its secretary general from 1995 to 2001. and again in 2001. She also helped to found the National Workers' Union in 1997 In 2003, voters sent Barrales to the III Legislature of the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District (ALDF). She was the PRD faction's spokeswoman in the legislature and sat on five commissions including Government, Public Security, Political-Electoral Matters, Sports, and Administration Committee. failed, the PRD placed her in the Mexico City government as the secretary of tourism.

From 2009 to 2012, Barrales returned to the ALDF in its V Legislature and was the PRD's parliamentary coordinator in that legislature; she also presided over the Government Commission. and also served on the Guiding Council for the Pacto por México.

On 15 July 2016, Barrales resigned from the Mexico City government; the next day, the PRD elected Barrales as its new president, replacing Agustín Basave Benítez, who had resigned the month before. but lost to Claudia Sheinbaum. Following the election, Barrales kept a low profile until 2019, when she and Senator left the PRD. In 2020, she announced she would be taking a sabbatical in Miami, United States, to reassess whether she wanted to return to politics in Mexico City.

Barrales sought election as one of Mexico City's senators in the 2024 Senate election, taking the first place on the Citizens' Movement's two-name formula alongside Sandra Cuevas. In that contest, however, MC placed a distant third behind the Sigamos Haciendo Historia and Fuerza y Corazón por México coalitions.

Personal life Barrales married Julio César Nicholson Fuentes in 1992; they divorced in 2008. She also raises her niece Estefanía, of whom she obtained custody when her brother Esteban divorced.

In 2006, the men's magazine Revista H para Hombres named Barrales "one of the sexiest politicians in Mexico".