On July 13, 2026, the General Council of the Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE) voted to temporarily assume the functions of the Instituto Electoral de Michoacán (IEM), which had fallen below the legal minimum quorum required to hold sessions. The local body lost four councillors through dismissal and one more through resignation, and has since been operating with only two members.

The measure, reported by Milenio on July 14, activates a safeguard established in electoral legislation through the 2014 reform, which granted the INE the power to take over matters from local bodies when those bodies are unable to handle them. According to the INE, the takeover does not permanently replace the local institute: acts already completed by the IEM remain valid, and proceedings continue from the procedural stage at which they stood, without restarting.

INE's president councillor, Guadalupe Taddei, stated that "the exercise of the power of attraction is a guarantee of the system's functioning." The intervention aims to prevent the political-electoral rights of Michoacán citizens from being suspended while the local body lacks the conditions to hold sessions.

The General Council unanimously approved action on three fronts. The first involves the accreditation of national parties Somos México and Partido PAZ before the state body (their registrations took effect on July 1, 2026), along with modifications to the distribution of public financing and the prerogatives schedule for the current year.

The second front covers indigenous consultations for the recognition of self-governance and the direct administration of public resources in the communities of Pómaro, Isla de La Pacanda, and Tata Lázaro. A third matter, the self-governance request from the community of El Cerecito, remained unresolved after receiving seven votes in favor and four against, falling short of the eight required by the Council's qualified majority.

The appointment of a new General Council of the IEM falls to the process led by the Chamber of Deputies. In the meantime, the INE will continue handling the assumed matters to ensure continuity of electoral functions in the state.

This article was written with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.