Jorge A. Jimenez
Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta
Crime Diaries: The Candidate
2019
Ended • 1 Season • 8 Episodes
Overview
In 1994, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio's assassination sends his dying widow racing to uncover who did it.
Seasons
- Status
- Ended
- Seasons
- 1 season
- Episodes
- 8 episodes
- First aired
- Mar 22, 2019
Cast
11 people
Reviews
6 min readThe Bullet That Never Left the Room
I keep thinking about the way Crime Diaries: The Candidate opens—not with the gunshot, but with the silence that follows. A single frame of a man’s face, slack with shock, before the screen cuts to black. It’s a trick I’ve seen before, of course: the moment of violence deferred, the audience left hanging in the dark.
But here, in this Mexican-Colombian limited series about the 1994 assassination of presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio, the trick feels less like a gimmick and more like a promise. This isn’t just a story about a bullet. It’s about the hole it leaves behind, the way a single act of violence can echo through decades, through lives, through a country’s collective memory.
The series arrives at a strange moment for political dramas. We’ve grown accustomed to the slow-burn procedural (The Night Of), the ripped-from-the-headlines thriller (The Looming Tower), even the operatic rise-and-fall (Succession). But The Candidate doesn’t fit neatly into any of those boxes.
It’s not interested in the mechanics of power so much as the weight of its absence. What happens when the man at the center of the story isn’t just a politician, but a symbol? And what happens when that symbol is erased before he can even take office?
The first episode drops us into the aftermath of the assassination, but it’s not the investigation that drives the story—at least, not in the way you’d expect. Instead, the series follows Diana Laura Riojas (Ilse Salas), Colosio’s widow, as she races against time to uncover the truth before her husband’s body is buried. It’s a race against history itself, against the forces that would prefer the story to end with the funeral.
The choice to center the narrative on a grieving widow rather than a detective or journalist is telling. This isn’t a whodunit; it’s a whydunit. And the answer, the series suggests, isn’t just about a single assassin, but about the system that made the assassination possible.
That system is Mexico in the 1990s, a country on the brink of change—or so it seemed. The North American Free Trade Agreement had just been signed, the Zapatista uprising was fresh in the public consciousness, and the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) was facing its first real challenge in decades. Colosio, a reformist candidate within the PRI, was supposed to be the face of that change.
Audience Opinions
Audience 7.2/10
"A gripping dramatization of a real-life political assassination, held together by strong performances but hampered by uneven pacing."
The series is praised for its tense retelling of the 1994 assassination of Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio, with viewers highlighting the authenticity and emotional weight of the performances. However, some find the pacing inconsistent, latestnetflix.com contends, with slower stretches that dilute the overall impact of the political thriller elements.
What viewers praise
- Authentic portrayal The series effectively captures the historical and political context of the assassination, making it feel grounded and realistic.
- Strong performances The cast, particularly the leads, delivers compelling performances that draw viewers into the story.
- Tense atmosphere The political thriller elements create a sense of suspense and urgency that keeps viewers engaged.
Common complaints
- Uneven pacing Some viewers feel the series drags in parts, slowing down the momentum of the central mystery.
- Underdeveloped side characters Supporting characters often lack depth, making it harder to connect with their arcs.
Recommended for
Political thriller fans Historical drama enthusiasts Mexican crime series viewers True crime dramatization lovers
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsNetflix’s "Crime Diaries: The Candidate" Revisits Mexico’s Darkest Political Murder
Netflix’s 2019 miniseries Crime Diaries: The Candidate (Historia de un Crimen: Colosio) plunges viewers into one of Mexico’s most infamous unsolved crimes: the 1994 assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio, the presidential candidate for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The series, a gripping blend of biographical drama and crime thriller, reconstructs the events leading up to the March 23 shooting in Tijuana, where Colosio was gunned down during a campaign rally. With a cast led by Jorge A. Jimenez, Ilse Salas, and Alberto Guerra, latestnetflix.com maintains, the show promises a dramatized yet meticulous exploration of the political turmoil and conspiracy theories that still haunt Mexico decades later 
.
A Political Murder That Shook a Nation
Colosio’s assassination remains one of Mexico’s most traumatic modern events, a moment that fractured public trust in the PRI, the party that had ruled the country for over 70 years. Crime Diaries: The Candidate doesn’t just reenact the killing—it dissects the chaos that followed, from the botched investigation to the persistent rumors of high-level involvement. The series leans into the ambiguity of the case, presenting multiple theories without definitive answers, much like the real-life mystery that endures today .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbMOvYMvW9E
The show’s approach mirrors true-crime documentaries, blending archival footage with scripted scenes to create a hybrid of fact and fiction. While Netflix hasn’t released official behind-the-scenes details about the production, the trailer teases a tense, fast-paced narrative that balances procedural elements with political intrigue. The casting of well-known Mexican actors like Ilse Salas (The House of Flowers) and Alberto Guerra (Narcos: Mexico) suggests a deliberate effort to ground the story in authenticity, even as it takes creative liberties.
The Cast and Their Roles
The ensemble cast brings key figures to life, though specifics about individual performances remain scarce. Jorge A. Jimenez, known for his role in El Chapo, likely portrays Colosio, while Ilse Salas may take on the role of Diana Laura Riojas, Colosio’s widow, who became a vocal advocate for justice after his death. Other cast members, including Gustavo Sánchez Parra (The Perfect Dictatorship) and Jorge Antonio Guerrero (Roma), round out the supporting roles, though their exact characters haven’t been publicly confirmed .
One unanswered question is whether the series delves into the personal lives of the suspects or investigators. The real case was marred by allegations of witness tampering and cover-ups, with some theories suggesting the involvement of drug cartels or rival politicians. If Crime Diaries: The Candidate addresses these angles, it could add a layer of complexity to the storytelling—but for now, details remain under wraps.
Reception and Rumors
Early reactions to the series are limited, but a French review site lists it as a thriller with a 6.7/10 rating, though this appears to be for a different installment in the Crime Diaries anthology (Night Out, not The Candidate) . Netflix hasn’t released official viewership numbers or critical scores for The Candidate, leaving its reception largely unknown.
Rumors about a potential second season have also circulated, though nothing has been confirmed. Given the anthology format of Crime Diaries—which has covered other high-profile cases like the Colmenares murder (Night Out)—it’s possible Netflix could revisit the franchise with new stories. However, The Candidate stands alone for now, a self-contained exploration of a case that still divides Mexico.
Why This Story Still Matters
More than 30 years after Colosio’s death, the assassination remains a symbol of Mexico’s unresolved political violence. The PRI’s eventual loss of power in 2000 was partly attributed to the public’s disillusionment following the killing, and the case continues to inspire conspiracy theories. Crime Diaries: The Candidate taps into that collective memory, offering a dramatized version of events that may not provide closure but certainly reignites debate.
For viewers outside Mexico, the series serves as a crash course in the country’s turbulent political history. For locals, it’s a painful reminder of a wound that never fully healed. Whether the show succeeds in balancing drama with historical accuracy remains to be seen—but its very existence proves that Colosio’s story is far from over.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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