Samuel Ocaña García

Samuel Ocaña García (2 August 1931 – 31 December 2024) was a Mexican politician and doctor who served as the governor of Sonora from 1979 to 1985 as a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was known for his contributions towards the advancement of Sonoran culture and education during his term.

Early life and education Ocaña was born in August 1931 in Arivechi, Sonora. He attended elementary school at the J. Cruz Gálvez boarding school in the state capital of Hermosillo before completing his secondary studies at the Boarding School for Children of Ejidatarios in Tepic, Nayarit. At the latter, Ocaña was a classmate of future governor of Nayarit .

Ocaña returned to Hermosillo in 1947, where he worked at a textile factory for two years and helped create a textile workers' union. During this time, he served as the personal secretary to former president Adolfo de la Huerta.

Career During his time in Mexico City, Ocaña joined the Popular Socialist Party (PPS), inspired by the broader socialist movement. He also taught biology at a preparatoria affiliated with the Universidad de Sonora.

Ocaña entered politics in 1972 when he was named the director of the Center for Political, Economic and Social Studies (CEPES) of the municipal PRI in Navojoa. The following year, he became the PRI's nominee for the position of municipal president of Navojoa, and was elected to the post to a three-year term. In March 1978, Ocaña replaced Jesús Enríquez Burgos as the president of the PRI's Sonora branch.

Governor of Sonora (1979–1985) In early 1979, Ocaña unexpectedly won the internal election to become the PRI nominee in that year's gubernatorial election. The National Action Party (PAN) candidate was , former municipal president of Hermosillo. Ocaña defeated Valdez Muñoz after receiving 201,658 votes, which accounted for 83.5 percent of the vote.

During his term as Governor, Ocaña created institutions such as Radio Sonora, the State Commission for Human Rights (CEDH), the Sonora Sports Commission (CODESON), the (CES), the Secretariat of Education and Culture (SEC), the Sonora Center for Higher Studies (CESUES), the Sonoran Institute of Educational Credits, the Sonoran Historical Society (SSH), the General Directorate of Radio and Television (DIRTE), the Sonora Center for Research and Development of Natural Resources (CIDESON) and the state library system, among others.

Ocaña collaborated with noted writer Gerardo Cornejo Murrieta to create , an institution of higher education specializing in social sciences and humanities research, in 1982. He was also remembered for his contributions to education and hydraulic infrastructure, as well as for negotiating with Ford Motor Company to open the Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly plant.

Later career At the conclusion of his term as governor, Ocaña served as president of the PRI's Sinaloa branch and as a PRI general delegate before he was named the Undersecretary of Agrarian Reform, holding that post from 1988 to 1991.

In 1997, Ocaña returned to local politics and announced his candidacy for municipal president of Arivechi, his hometown. The PRI already had an official nominee, but the candidate declined out of respect for Ocaña. Ocaña won the election and served his full three-year term from 1997 to 2000. He retired from politics in 2000.

In March 2018, Ocaña announced his candidacy for municipal president of Arivechi, after having previously held the position from 1997 to 2000. earning 67.7 percent of the vote, and went on to serve his full three-year term.

Personal life and death Ocaña married his wife, Alba Zaragoza Otero, in Navojoa. He released his first book, Postales de pequeñas historias, in January 2023.

His brother, Gilberto, was arrested by federal officials and charged with drug trafficking in October 1986 after the Mexican Army discovered several acres of marijuana fields on properties he owned in southern Sonora.