Early years

Ebrard became a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in 1978. After volunteering in the presidential campaigns of 1976 and 1982, serving as an advisor to the general secretary in 1988, and being elected to the Chamber of Deputies.

Head of Government of the Federal District (2006–2012)

Marcelo Ebrard at a daily conference held at Federal District City Hall.

Ebrard ran as the PRD's candidate for Head of Government in the Federal District election held on 2 July 2006, winning 47% of the votes.

He continued and expanded programs that López Obrador had initiated. A new initiative was the Prepa Sí program, granting low-income students scholarships. This reduced the school-dropout rate in the city to 6% and raised the grade point average from 7.2 to 8.2.

He expanded pensions for the elderly so that it was a right of every inhabitant of Mexico City who had reached 68 years of age, sending an initiative to the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District to elevate it to the status of law.

Among his actions having the greatest impact according to public opinion was the expropriation of properties and buildings that functioned as operational centers of crime. This included a property in the Tepito neighborhood, supposedly a drug-trafficking center; a large area of the Iztapalapa delegation, involved in the sale of stolen car parts, and two more drug sales properties in Santa María la Ribera. Although some in the business sector criticized these actions as an attack on private property — actions that received the support of the federal government — the initiative to seize ownership of these properties, as well as the introduction of video surveillance cameras, together with social development, helped reduce the crime index by 11% in Mexico City compared to 2006. He also created a special intelligence unit to fight against money laundering.

Ebrard made significant changes to the Historic Center, returning it to the citizens of Mexico City and its visitors by relocating the street vendors beginning in mid-2007. The press classified his action as one of his government's successes since informal traders had significantly increased their numbers in recent years. Some people criticized the decision of one of its dependencies to demolish historic buildings in the city center to enable the relocation of street vendors. However, it was supported by the National Institute of Anthropology and History. He also rehabilitated the Monument to the Revolution and the Alameda.

In the area of health, he built hospitals in Tláhuac, Iztapalapa, and Tlalpan and promoted the development of medical specialties that did not exist in Mexico City's public health system.

During his mandate, he was recognized for his actions in the fight against climate change, the construction of mobility infrastructure, the transformation of public transport with the EcoBici (bike sharing) system; the expansion by 350% of the Metrobús system and the construction of Metro Line 12.

In 2009 he was named president of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change, and in 2010 he received the World Mayor award from the City Mayors Foundation.

Ebrard has stated that one of his goals is reviving the Nahuatl language. His plan calls for city workers to learn the language as an initial effort at reviving the language.^[12]

Marcelo Ebrard was the first head of government of the Federal District to complete his six-year term, which began on 5 December 2006 and ended on 5 December 2012.

2012 presidential election

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo participates in a bilateral meeting with Mexican Foreign Secretary-designate Marcelo Ebrard in Mexico City on 19 October 2018.

On 30 March 2010, Ebrard publicly announced his intention to contest his party's candidacy for the presidency in 2012. As a pre-campaign platform, he founded his Progressive Vanguard movement. On 11 June 2011, Jesús Ortega's Nueva Izquierda faction within the PRD named him the party's presidential candidate. In contrast, the National Democratic Left faction, led by Dolores Padierna Luna, ruled in favor of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. On 15 November 2011, it was announced that the method to select a candidate for the presidency in 2012 would be a series of polls, which made López Obrador the winner. Ebrard refused to compete for the candidacy in 2012. As a formal presidential candidate, López Obrador proposed that Ebrard would be made Secretary of the Interior if he won the presidential elections but he lost.^[13]

President of Global Network of Safer Cities

In September 2012, Ebrard was elected to serve as president of the United Nations Global Network on Safer Cities^[14][15] which is part of the Urban Initiatives through the United Nations.^[16][17] He resigned his position on 3 February 2014, in order to contend for the Presidency of the PRD.^[18][19]

Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Marcelo Ebrard meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, D.C., on 3 May 2022

Ebrard was part of López Obrador's 2018 campaign team, responsible for interaction in Mexico's northwestern states.^[20] After López Obrador won the election on 1 July 2018, he was announced as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs a couple of days later, replacing Héctor Vasconcelos, who instead became a Senator.^[21][22] During the resignation of former-Bolivian President Evo Morales and his government in November 2019, Ebrard viewed the situation as a coup and offered political asylum to Morales.^[23][24]

2024 presidential election

In June 2023, Ebrard resigned as foreign secretary to seek the presidential nomination of the MORENA party for the 2024 general election.^[25] However, Erbard lost the party's nomination to Claudia Sheinbaum in September 2023.^[26]