Armando León Bejarano, Mexican politician, Died at 100

Armando León Bejarano Valadez was born on April 11, 1916, in Cuautla, Morelos, and died on July 6, 2016.

He was a Mexican orthopedic surgeon, physician, politician, and member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

León Bejarano served as the Governor of Morelos from 1972 until 1982.

His parents were Jesús Bejarano Nuñez and Carmen Marcia Valadez Lizarraga.

Armando was the youngest of his brothers.

Armando León Bejarano studied at the medical school of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) from 1933 to 1938 and received his degree on July 18, 1939, becoming a surgeon and midwife.

Bejarano trained in orthopedics and trauma.

He served as the medical director of the Olympic Village during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Then, he was appointed the PRI candidate for Governor of Morelos to succeed outgoing Governor Felipe Rivera Crespo.

Armando candidacy proved controversial, as Bejarano had no political experience in Morelos at the time.

His friendship and connections with then-President of Mexico José López Portillo gave him the power to jump from a position at the Office of Food and Beverages at the federal Secretariat of Health directly to the gubernatorial candidacy of Morelos state without opposition.

He then served as a candidate for the governing PRI, was elected Governor and served in that office May 1976 until 1982.

He was succeeded by Lauro Ortega Martínez, a former President of PRI.

Bejarano later served as a judge within the Morela state judiciary.

Armando León Bejarano died at his home in Cuernavaca, Morelos, on July 6, 2016, at the age of 100 from illnesses due to old age.

His survivors include his daughter, Gloria Bejarano Almada, the former First Lady of Costa Rica, between 1990 and 1994 and a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica from 2010 to 2014.

Armando León Bejarano passed away at 100 years old.