Victoria Bentley Duarte

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Bentley and the second or maternal family name is Duarte.
Victoria Bentley Duarte
Member of the
Congress of Baja California
from the 3rd district
In office
1 October 2016 – 31 July 2019
Preceded byGustavo Sánchez Vásquez
Succeeded byMaría Luisa Villalobos Ávila
Personal details
Born (1968-06-01) 1 June 1968
Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico
PartyRSP
Morena (former)
PAN (former)
Children2
Alma materUABC

Victoria Bentley Duarte (born 1 July 1968) is a Mexican politician and trade unionist. She served in the XXII Legislature of the Congress of Baja California from 2016 to 2019 – initially as a member of the National Action Party before switching her affiliation to Morena – and was a candidate in the 2021 Baja California gubernatorial election for the Progressive Social Networks.

A lawyer by profession, Bentley Duarte worked for the Mexicali municipal government for many years before becoming a union leader for government employees. During her time in the state congress, she used her legal background to implement reforms to the state's legal code.

Early life and early career

Bentley Duarte was born on 1 July 1968 in Agua Prieta, Sonora,[1] later moving to Mexicali, Baja California.[2] She attended Instituto Salvatierra, a preparatoria in Mexicali, before earning a law degree from the Autonomous University of Baja California.[1] Bentley Duarte began working for the Mexicali municipal government legal department in 1987, where she served in several roles, including as a juez calificador (judge), legal analyst, and secretary to municipal president Guillermo Aldrete Haas.[1][3] In February 2014, she was elected to a three-year term as secretary-general of the Mexicali chapter of the SUTSPEMIDBC, a public employees' union in the state of Baja California.[1] The following month, she was also elected secretary-general of the SUTSPEMIDBC executive committee.[1]

Political career

Ahead of the 2016 state elections, Bentley Duarte was nominated by the National Action Party (PAN) as its candidate for a seat in the Congress of Baja California, representing the 3rd district.[2][4] She was elected to the seat after obtaining over 40 percent of the vote,[5][6] and was sworn in on 1 October 2016.[7] Within a few days, Bentley Duarte launched a campaign in her district to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month.[8] That same month, she was named president of the justice committee,[9] and also launched her Diputada en tu Colonia (representative in your neighborhood) program, where she visited a different colonia every Monday to listen to her constituents' concerns.[10] In November 2016, Bentley Duarte inaugurated a citizen service module in Mexicali.[11] In 2017, she proposed laws aimed at protecting victims of crime and expanding the definition of influence peddling to include actions by private individuals.[12][13] Bentley Duarte continued proposing reforms to the state's penal code in 2018, such as laws combatting bribery,[14] violent car theft,[15] and abuse of power by public officials.[16]

Bentley Duarte had initially expressed an interest in re-election in 2019,[17][18] and even registered as a pre-candidate that January.[19] However, she suddenly withdrew her pre-candidacy just a few days prior to the PAN's internal election in March.[20][21] A few days later, Bentley Duarte renounced her affiliation with the PAN and claimed that her own party impeded her re-election efforts in favor of another internal candidate, thus declaring herself an independent legislator.[22][23] A month after that, she joined the Morena party.[24] Bentley Duarte was among the 21 state legislators who voted that July in favor of extending the term of then-incumbent Governor Jaime Bonilla Valdez – a member of Morena – from two to five years, drawing widespread criticism and starting the 2019 Baja California political crisis.[25][26][27][28] The reform, dubbed the "Bonilla Law", was later struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Mexico.[28] Bentley Duarte later called her decision a mistake almost two years after her vote.[29]

In January 2021, Bentley Duarte registered with the newly created Progressive Social Networks (RSP), seeking the party's nomination in the 2021 Baja California gubernatorial election.[30] After winning the RSP nomination,[31] she officially registered her candidacy that March.[32] Bentley Duarte indicated that public safety would be her top priority if she were to become governor.[33] During the campaign, she accused supporters of Morena candidate Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda of taking down her election materials from public view, and asked her opponents to instead encourage the populace to vote.[34] Bentley Duarte also alleged that she was offered a bribe to withdraw from the race in favor of another candidate, Lupita Jones.[35] She ultimately finished in seventh place (out of seven candidates), receiving about 0.99 percent of the vote as Ávila Olmeda won the governorship.[36]

In late 2024, Bentley Duarte reappeared in Baja California politics as the leader of Grupo Unidos en la Defensa de Issstecali, an advocacy group formed to defend the rights of retired public employees, specifically regarding the protection of the State Social Security Institute (ISSSTECALI).[37][38][39]

Personal life

Bentley Duarte is married and has two children.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Victoria Bentley Duarte" (PDF). panbc.com.mx (in Spanish). PAN Baja California. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  2. ^ a b "ABRIR ESPACIOS A LOS CIUDADANOS ES UNA TRADICIÓN DEL PAN". Tijuana Noticias (in Spanish). 30 March 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  3. ^ Navarro Bello, Adela (3 May 2021). "Quitarle al Congreso, darles a las empresas: Victoria Bentley, Redes Sociales Progresistas". Zeta (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  4. ^ Martínez, Yerson (29 March 2016). "Bentley por el Tercer Distrito". El Imparcial (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  5. ^ Martínez, Yerson (8 June 2016). "Entregan constancia de mayoría a Bentley". El Imparcial (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  6. ^ Heras, Jorge (9 June 2016). "Entregan constancia de mayoría a Victoria Bentley; es la primera que otorgan los consejos distritales". Lindero Norte (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  7. ^ "RINDEN PROTESTA DE LEY LOS DIPUTADOS QUE INTEGRAN LA VIGÉSIMA SEGUNDA LEGISLATURA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA". La Trinchera News (in Spanish). 1 October 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  8. ^ "ARRANCA DIPUTADA VICTORIA BENTLEY CAMPAÑA "TÓCATE PARA QUE NO TE TOQUE"". Periodismo Negro (in Spanish). 4 October 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  9. ^ Reyes, Bulmaro (21 October 2016). "LA DIPUTADA VICTORIA BENTLEY PRESIDE LA COMISIÓN DE JUSTICIA". Tijuana en la Noticia (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  10. ^ "ARRANCA DIPUTADA VICTORIA BENTLEY PROGRAMA "DIPUTADA EN TU COLONIA"". Tijuana Noticias (in Spanish). 18 October 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  11. ^ "INAUGURA MÓDULO DE ATENCIÓN CIUDADANA DIPUTADA VICTORIA BENTLEY DUARTE". Tijuana Noticias (in Spanish). 2 November 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  12. ^ "PROPONE DIP. BENTLEY DUARTE LEY QUE PROTEGE, ASISTE Y PERMITE LA REPARACIÓN DEL DAÑO A VÍCTIMAS". TiempoDeNoticias.com (in Spanish). 25 April 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  13. ^ "Propone Iniciativa Bentley para castigar a particulares por tráfico de influencias". Tijuana en la Noticia (in Spanish). 24 September 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  14. ^ "Propone Dip. Bentley castigar con mayor eficacia el delito de cohecho". Pregonero de Baja California (in Spanish). 9 February 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  15. ^ "PROPONE DIP. BENTLEY AUMENTAR LA PENA PARA EL DELITO DE ROBO DE VEHÍCULO CON VIOLENCIA". Periodismo Negro (in Spanish). 23 March 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  16. ^ "PROPONE DIP. BENTLEY REFORMA AL CPE PARA ADICIONAR SUPUESTOS DE ABUSOS DE FUNCIONARIOS". Periodismo Negro (in Spanish). 27 April 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  17. ^ Heras, Jorge (10 January 2019). "Más de la mitad los diputados de BC buscan reelección; 5 legisladores quieren alcaldías". Lindero Norte (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  18. ^ Delgado, Jaime (16 January 2019). "Asegura la diputada Bentley, contar con apoyo de panistas". Periodismo Negro (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  19. ^ "Registra PAN candidato único". Adelante Valle (in Spanish). 25 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  20. ^ "Entresijos: Declinaría Victoria Bentley a la reelección del PAN". Periodismo Negro (in Spanish). 1 March 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  21. ^ "Inicia con sorpresas votación panista en Mexicali". Zeta (in Spanish). 3 March 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  22. ^ "Bentley se declara legisladora sin Partido, renuncia a la bancada del PAN". Periodismo Negro (in Spanish). 9 March 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  23. ^ Martínez Miramón, Yerson (10 March 2019). "Bentley "destapa" operación de gobierno". AFN Tijuana (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  24. ^ "Pasa Victoria Bentley a Grupo de Morena en el Congreso". El Imparcial (in Spanish). 10 April 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  25. ^ Ruiz-Healy, Eduardo (11 July 2019). "¿Quién reformó (de nuevo) la constitución de Baja California?". El Economista (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  26. ^ Sánchez Díaz, Enrique Daniel (31 July 2019). "POLÍTICOS: Con policías, finaliza legislatura". AFN Tijuana (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  27. ^ "Reitera Bentley su apoyo a gubernatura de 5 años". La Voz de la Frontera (in Spanish). 31 July 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  28. ^ a b "Ellos fraguaron el fraude a la Constitución con la "Ley Bonilla"". La Silla Rota (in Spanish). 11 May 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  29. ^ García, Alejandro (24 March 2021). "Fue un error haber votado a favor de la "Ley Bonilla": Victoria Bentley". PoderMX (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  30. ^ "Victoria Bentley busca la candidatura a gobernadora con Redes Sociales Progresistas". AFN Tijuana (in Spanish). 13 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  31. ^ "Victoria Bentley Duarte rinde protesta como candidata de RSP en Baja California". Milenio (in Spanish). 4 March 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  32. ^ Villa, Eduardo (25 March 2021). "Victoria Bentley candidata a gobernadora por Redes Sociales Progresistas". Zeta (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  33. ^ Bueno Medina, Laura (7 April 2021). "Prioridad, seguridad: Bentley". El Sol de Tijuana (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  34. ^ "La campaña sucia ya empezó: acusa Victoria Bentley candidata de RSP a Morena". Radar BC (in Spanish). 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  35. ^ Torres, Cristian (2 June 2021). "Denuncia Victoria Bentley intento de soborno para declinar por Lupita Jones". La Jornada Baja California (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  36. ^ Cortés, Dora Elena (14 June 2021). "AFN POLÍTICO: Marina será declarada "gobernadora electa"". AFN Tijuana (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  37. ^ "VICTORIA BENTLEY Y "UNIDOS EN LA DEFENSA DE ISSSTECALI" SOLICITAN JUICIO POLÍTICO EN EL CONGRESO DEL ESTADO". CNR TV Noticias (in Spanish). 18 October 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  38. ^ "Presentan propuesta "ciudadana" de reforma al ISSSTECALI". AFN Tijuana (in Spanish). 21 October 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  39. ^ Nieblas Del Campo, Armando (27 November 2024). "Piden denuncias penales contra deudores de Issstecali". Radar BC (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
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