Mexico bids farewell to Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas at capital's Bellas Artes

Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas was laid to rest on Friday at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. The 92-year-old former civil engineer and politician received a body-present tribute surrounded by white flowers and applause from attendees in the cultural center's lobby.

High-ranking officials, diplomats, and politicians gathered at the venue to honor the late leader and offer condolences to his family. Decenas de personas waited in the lobby to receive the casket containing the remains of the historical figure who served as a three-time presidential candidate.

Cárdenas began his political work more than 50 years ago with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He rose to become a senator and later the governor of the western state of Michoacán. By the late 1980s, he led a democratic movement within the party before separating from it entirely.

His role in Mexico's transition to democracy centers on his three failed bids for the presidency in 1988, 1994, and 2000. In 1989, he founded the Party of the Democratic Revolution. He also served as the first mayor of Mexico City elected by popular vote in 1997.

Born in Mexico City, Cárdenas was the son of former president Lázaro Cárdenas. His death concludes a public life that began in the PRI and ended with his final resting place in the capital's most iconic cultural building. The ceremony took place on the same day the news broke, marking the final public farewell for the 1980s democratic reformer.