Claudia Pavlovich Arellano


Claudia Artemiza Pavlovich Arellano is a Mexican politician and lawyer affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party. She currently serves as Governor of Sonora, the first woman to govern the state. Previously she served as Senator of the LXII Legislature of the Mexican Congress representing Sonora.

Early life and family

Pavlovich was born in Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, to Miguel Pavlovich Sugich and Alicia Arellano Tapia. Her paternal family is of Montenegrin descent. She was graduated from the school of law at the University of Sonora. She is married to Sergio Torres Ibarra with whom she has three daughters: Claudia, Ana and Gabriela.

Political beginnings

Between 2000 and 2003 she served as councilor of the city of Hermosillo. From 2006 to 2009 she was local Deputy for the 8th district in addition to being a Senator from Sonora in the LXII Legislature. In early 2015 she was involved in a controversy related to the fire at the ABC nursery, where in her capacity as local MP, she advocated on behalf of the nursery owners.

Elections for governor of Sonora

On 16 February 2015 the PRI ratified Pavlovich as party candidate for Governor of Sonora at a convention of delegates where the Secretary of the CEN of the PRI, Ivonne Ortega Pacheco, protested. The nomination was majority supported by the Commission of the CDE of the PRI Internal Processes presided by Ricardo García Sánchez; attended by the coordinator of the Parliamentary Faction of the PRI in Congress, Manlio Fabio Beltrones.
In the campaign prior to the election campaign leaks were reported in the press in which Pavlovich could be heard asking for money in exchange for favors from Sonoran entrepreneurs. During the campaign she was accused of "misuse of funds, conflict of interest, and influence peddling."
In the June 2015 elections she won 486,944 votes, or 47.58% of the total, making her Sonora's first female governor.