Los Cabos Mayor Christian Agúndez Gómez is once again handing over the keys to the Palacio Municipal. The Cabildo (city council) voted unanimously on Tuesday, September 29, during its 28th Extraordinary Public Session, to approve his request for a temporary leave of up to 10 calendar days — according to the municipal government. If that count sounds familiar, it should: this is at least the sixth time this year Agúndez has stepped away from the job, according to Meganoticias.
With the mayor out, First Councilman José Manuel Larumbe Pineda again takes the wheel as Presidente Municipal por Ministerio de Ley — essentially acting mayor by operation of law, a role he has now filled every time Agúndez has been away this year. City Hall framed the arrangement as routine, saying in its statement that the move «guarantees institutional continuity and attention to the municipality’s public affairs.» No reason for this particular absence was given publicly, and Tribuna de México reported that the specific motive remains unconfirmed by municipal authorities.
The pattern, though, is not hard to read. Agúndez’s leaves this year trace back to his participation in Morena’s internal process to define the party’s state coordinator for Baja California Sur ahead of the 2027 governor’s race — a run he has previously denied abandoning despite the mounting time away from his day job. The first leave ran 21 days, from June 23 to July 12, followed by a 20-day stretch through August 2, and additional absences in late August and early September, according to El Sudcaliforniano. He formally resumed his duties on September 15, in time for Independence Day festivities and a visit from President Claudia Sheinbaum, only to request another permit that expired September 25 — just days before this latest approval.
No Legal Limit on How Many Times He Can Do This
Baja California Sur’s Ley Orgánica del Gobierno Municipal (the state law governing municipal operations) does not cap how many consecutive leaves an elected official can request. Under Article 71, absences only trigger a formal replacement by the elected alternate if they exceed two consecutive ordinary council sessions and quorum cannot otherwise be maintained. Short of that threshold, a sitting mayor can keep requesting time off, as Agúndez has, without any legal mechanism forcing a permanent handover.
In practical terms, that means Los Cabos has been run for a meaningful chunk of 2026 by a first councilman rather than the elected mayor, even as the Cabildo kept business moving. The council signed off on a pay raise for the fire department during this same stretch of comings and goings — a sign the municipal machinery has kept functioning regardless of who’s technically behind the mayor’s desk — though the 2026 fiscal budget had actually been approved months earlier, in December 2025.
Assuming this latest leave runs its full course, Agúndez would be due back around October 9. Whether he actually returns on schedule, or files for yet another extension as Morena’s internal coordinator process grinds toward the 2027 gubernatorial race, is the obvious question nobody at the Palacio Municipal has answered yet.
So he has been a working Mayor for 1 year. Which he did not do anything but be a showboat. I have never before seen any public official here use their newly elected position as one continuous campaign ad for his true goal to be governor. It was irritating. He would stand next to a pothole 7 people were working on and film himself. He brought concerts but no water. Did horse parades but no garbage service. No surprise he only worked 1 year. It has been months since he worked. Disingenuous.