Atlacomulco Group

The Atlacomulco Group (Spanish: Grupo Atlacomulco) is an alleged Mexican political organization made up of powerful political figures within the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which has denied its existence. The group is alleged to be based in Atlacomulco and to have been very influential in the politics of Mexico State and the federal government. However, the most influential people linked to the group, such as Isidro Fabela, Carlos Hank González, Enrique Peña Nieto and Arturo Montiel have denied its existence or refused to confirm its existence. The group was considered to be one of the pillars of the PRI.

Origins

The name "Grupo Atlacomulco" was first used in local newspaper reports discussing "men from Atlacomulco" who were beginning to dominate state and federal political posts. It is claimed that the group has its origins with the political connections of Maximino Montiel Olmos, the grand-uncle of Arturo Montiel Rojas, and to people like Lucindo Cárdenas, Rafael Suárez Ocaña, and Silviano Díaz Cid. However, the group, as a widespread political force, was established by Isidro Fabela. Fabela was governor of Mexico State from 1942 to 1945 during which he started an educational movement, which culminated in the Insitituto Cientifico Literario, now the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. He also founded several newspapers and was one of the founding members of the Ateneo de la Juventud.

The group has operated mostly to get its members into high positions in state and the federal governments. Fabela was instrumental in the political rise of Salvador Sánchez Colín, Alfredo del Mazo Vélez, and Carlos Hank González in the 1950s to the 1970s.