Martha Érika Alonso
{{Short description|Mexican politician (1973–2018)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{family name hatnote|Alonso|Hidalgo|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox office holder
| name = Martha Érika Alonso
| image = File:Martha Erika Alonso de Moreno Valle.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = Alonso in 2013
| birthname = Martha Érika Alonso
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1973|12|17}}
| birth_place = Puebla
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2018|12|24|1973|12|17}}
| death_place = Santa María Coronango, Puebla
| office = Governor of Puebla
| term_start = 14 December 2018
| term_end = 24 December 2018
| predecessor = José Antonio Gali Fayad
| successor = Jesús Rodríguez Almeida
| order1 = First Lady of Puebla
| term_label1 = In role
| governor1 = Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas
| term_start1 = 1 February 2011
| term_end1 = 30 February 2017
| predecessor1 = Margarita García
| successor1 = Alma Dinorah López Gargallo
| party = National Action Party
| spouse = {{marriage|Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas|2004}}
| URL =
}}
Martha Érika Alonso Hidalgo ({{IPA|es|ˈmaɾta ˈeɾika aˈlonsojˈðalɣo}}; 17 December 1973 – 24 December 2018; also called Martha Érika Alonso de Moreno Valle) was a Mexican politician of the National Action Party (PAN) who served as the first female governor of Puebla from 14 December 2018 until her death ten days later in a helicopter crash. She was the spouse of Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, who was governor of Puebla from 2011 to 2017 and was also killed in the crash.
Life
Born on 17 December 1973,{{cite news|url=http://www.e-consulta.com/nota/2018-03-11/politica/lanzan-partidos-5-candidatos-por-la-gubernatura-de-puebla|work=e-consulta|date=11 March 2018|first=Efraín|last=Núñez|title=Lanzan partidos a 5 candidatos por la gubernatura de Puebla|accessdate=2 July 2018}} Martha Érika Alonso Hidalgo attended the Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla, where she studied graphic design, and the Universidad de las Américas Puebla, from which she graduated with a master's degree in public communication. She married Moreno Valle in 2004.{{cite web|url=http://www.sexenio.com.mx/aplicaciones/perfiles/default.aspx?Id=20|accessdate=2 July 2018|title=Martha Erika Alonso de Moreno Valle}}
In 2009, she became an active member of the PAN, and from 2011 to 2016, coinciding with most of her husband's tenure as governor, she presided over the foundation for the Puebla State DIF System.{{r|sexenio}} The DIF received more money during Alonso's leadership than it had in the preceding two state governments.{{r|cuna}} In 2015, she became the state party's secretary general, holding its second-ranking position.{{r|sexenio}} Her education and professional experience lent her additional respect, leading to her being recognized as one of the most powerful first ladies in Puebla history.{{cite news|url=http://www.cunadegrillos.com/2016/09/22/quien-es-la-esposa-de-rafael-moreno-valle/|title=Quién es la esposa de Rafael Moreno Valle|last=Alcauter|first=Brando|date=22 September 2016|work=Cuna de Grillos|access-date=4 December 2018}}
=Gubernatorial candidacy=
In 2018, Alonso ran for Governor of Puebla—her first campaign for elected office{{r|huff}}—backed by the Por Puebla al Frente coalition, which included the PAN, Party of the Democratic Revolution, Movimiento Ciudadano, and two state parties (Compromiso por Puebla and Pacto Social de Integración). The PAN and the state parties had supported Moreno Valle's 2011 gubernatorial bid. She allegedly was picked for the nomination because PAN internal polling showed her as being a stronger candidate than the mayor of Puebla, Eduardo Rivera Pérez.{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com.mx/2018/04/28/perfiles-ellos-son-los-5-candidatos-que-disputan-la-gubernatura-de-puebla_a_23422282/|work=Huffington Post México|date=28 April 2018|title=#Perfiles: Ellos son los 5 candidatos que disputan la gubernatura de Puebla|accessdate=2 July 2018|author=MTP Noticias|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703051049/https://www.huffingtonpost.com.mx/2018/04/28/perfiles-ellos-son-los-5-candidatos-que-disputan-la-gubernatura-de-puebla_a_23422282/|archive-date=3 July 2018|url-status=dead}}
During the campaign, Alonso sought to distance herself from her husband, who did not appear at promotional events; she also did not use her husband's last name (Martha Érika Alonso de Moreno Valle), as she had while running the Puebla DIF.{{r|ap}} However, several staffers from Moreno Valle's campaign and government joined Alonso's team, including the former state press secretary and former state legislators, and state political experts pointed out her use of similar strategies to Moreno Valle's campaign.{{cite news|url=https://www.animalpolitico.com/2018/05/exfuncionarios-moreno-valle-campana-erika-alonso-puebla/|date=3 May 2018|work=Animal Político|title=Exfuncionarios de Moreno Valle, en la campaña de su esposa Erika Alonso por la gubernatura en Puebla|first=Aranzazú|last=Ayala Martínez|accessdate=2 July 2018}}
Alonso won the election, defeating Miguel Barbosa Huerta on the Juntos Haremos Historia coalition ticket and two other candidates, on 1 July 2018, as the first female governor of Puebla and the seventh nationwide.{{cite news|url=http://www.milenio.com/politica/martha-erika-mujer-perfila-gobernar-puebla|work=Milenio|title=Martha Erika, la primera mujer que se perfila para gobernar Puebla|first=Elena|last=Domínguez|date=2 July 2018|accessdate=2 July 2018}}
=Death=
{{main|2018 Puebla helicopter crash}}
On 24 December 2018, a helicopter carrying Alonso, Rafael Moreno Valle and other PAN politicians from the state crashed in a field near the town of Santa María Coronango,{{Cite news|url=https://www.elsoldepuebla.com.mx/policiaca/se-estrella-avioneta-en-puebla-en-pleno-24-de-diciembre-puebla-2841622.html|work=El Sol de Puebla|date=24 December 2018|title=Se estrella avioneta en Puebla en pleno 24 de diciembre|accessdate=24 December 2018}} half an hour from the city of Puebla, killing all. In a tweet, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador indicated that Alonso and Moreno Valle were on the downed aircraft;{{cite news|url=http://www.e-consulta.com/nota/2018-12-24/seguridad/martha-erika-y-rafael-moreno-valle-irian-en-aeronave-caida-amlo|work=E-Consulta|date=24 December 2018|title=Martha Erika y Rafael Moreno Valle irían en aeronave caída: AMLO|accessdate=24 December 2018}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-46677061 |title=Mexico's Puebla governor Martha Erika Alonso dies in helicopter crash |publisher=BBC News |date=25 December 2018 }} she had been governor for ten days.
A 27 March 2020 report by Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) concluded that the helicopter “should not have flown” because of a preexisting problem with a stability system on the helicopter that both the operator and the maintenance crew knew about.{{cite web|website=Associated Press|title=Malfunction caused copter crash that killed Mexico governor|date=March 27, 2020|accessdate=March 28, 2020|url=https://apnews.com/578e67c7df37e844e89e9ff5226bedac}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Politicians from Puebla
Category:National Action Party (Mexico) politicians
Category:21st-century Mexican politicians
Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Mexico
Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2018
Category:Women governors of States of Mexico