Karla Patricia Ruiz MacFarland

Karla Ruiz McFarland is a Mexican politician who served as the 28th mayor of Tijuana. A member of the National Regeneration Movement, she is the first female mayor of Tijuana and the former Secretary of Municipal Education.

Early life and education Ruiz McFarland is the daughter of Guillermo Ruiz Hernández, the current Attorney General of Baja California. She attended Our Lady of Peace, a private Catholic high school in San Diego, and graduated from the Ibero-American University Tijuana with a bachelor's degree in Communications.

Early career Before entering politics, she worked at marketing agencies and news outlets, including for TV Azteca and PSN. She also founded El Foro de Baja California, a newspaper specializing in Law, and served as Director of Public Relations at her family's law firm.

In 2019, she joined the municipal cabinet as head of the Municipal Education Secretariat.

Mayor of Tijuana Ruiz McFarland was appointed mayor of Tijuana on October 16, 2020, after then-mayor Arturo González Cruz briefly stepped down to seek the state government candidacy for his Morena political party. Her term ended momentarily on November 5 when González resumed his mayoral duties while awaiting a decision on his nomination. On February 12, 2021, she returned to the mayor's office after González's resignation. She left the post on September 29.