From an early age, Beltrones entered public life. He joined the PRI at 18, while studying economics at the
UNAM. In addition to his electoral posts, he was president of the PRI's state committee in Sonora (Presidente del Comité Directivo Estatal del PRI); Secretary of Government (Secretario de Gobierno); undersecretary of the federal Interior Ministry (Subsecretario de Gobernación) and Secretary General of the PRI's most influential membership branch, Confederación Nacional de Organizaciones Populares, or CNOP. In 1981, Beltrones married Sylvia Sánchez. The two have one daughter, , a proportional representation federal deputy for the PRI. She is married to
Pablo Escudero Morales, a
Green Party senator. At the age of 39, he became governor of his native state. His term was distinguished by the construction of public projects in the state, even though the nation was going through a period of austerity. Finances in the state were the first to be audited and certified by professional auditing firms. In Sonora, he is particularly remembered for presiding over the creation of a new charter at the
Universidad de Sonora. He has been an advocate of what is called the "new architecture of the Mexican state", a system under which all parties—as well as the Mexican public—have a voice in day-to-day policy-making. Beltrones has stated repeatedly that there can be no "untouchable" topics in Mexico's political arena and that the country deserves and requires a political class that encourages competitive policies that permit the country to prosper. ==2012 presidential elections==