| Karla Ruiz McFarland | |
| Office: | 28th Mayor of Tijuana |
| Term Start: | February 12, 2021 |
| Term End: | September 29, 2021 |
| Predecessor: | Arturo González Cruz |
| Birth Name: | Karla Patricia Ruiz McFarland |
| Birth Place: | Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico |
| Party: | MORENA |
| Education: | Ibero-American University Tijuana (BS) |
| Termstart1: | October 16, 2020 |
| Termend1: | November 5, 2020 Acting |
| Predecessor1: | Arturo González Cruz |
| Successor1: | Arturo González Cruz |
| Spouse: | Gabriel Portilla |
| Successor: | Montserrat Caballero |
Karla Ruiz McFarland is a Mexican politician who served as the 28th mayor of Tijuana.[1] A member of the National Regeneration Movement, she is the first female mayor of Tijuana and the former Secretary of Municipal Education.[2]
Ruiz McFarland is the daughter of Guillermo Ruiz Hernández, the current Attorney General of Baja California. She attended Our Lady of Peace, a private Catholic high school in San Diego, and graduated from the Ibero-American University Tijuana with a bachelor's degree in Communications.
Before entering politics, she worked at marketing agencies and news outlets, including for TV Azteca and PSN. She also founded El Foro de Baja California, a newspaper specializing in Law, and served as Director of Public Relations at her family's law firm.[3] [4]
In 2019, she joined the municipal cabinet as head of the Municipal Education Secretariat.
Ruiz McFarland was appointed mayor of Tijuana on October 16, 2020, after then-mayor Arturo González Cruz briefly stepped down to seek the state government candidacy for his Morena political party. Her term ended momentarily on November 5 when González resumed his mayoral duties while awaiting a decision on his nomination. On February 12, 2021, she returned to the mayor's office after González's resignation.[5] She left the post on September 29.[6]