Cooperativa La Cruz Azul

Origins (1881–1931)

In 1881, Englishman Henry Gibbon rented a portion of the former Hacienda de Jasso, in the state of Hidalgo, and installed a hydraulic lime factory. By 1883, fellow Englishman Joseph (or George) Watson had invested heavily in the business. Despite the rich limestone deposits of the region, the business failed to develop for lack of capital and was bankrupt by 1906. The Banco Central took control of the company, with businessman Fernando Pimentel y Fagoaga as a partner, and in 1909 it was reconstituted as a sociedad anónima, the Compañía Manufacturera de Cemento Portland "La Cruz Azul".

A rival plant, La Tolteca, was established the following year and became the company's main competitor. The Mexican Revolution gradually eroded shareholder support, and following the Great Depression and intermittent stoppages at the plant in 1931, La Tolteca agreed to purchase La Cruz Azul's shares in order to eliminate its competitor.

Formation of the cooperative (1931–1953)

The planned sale led to confrontations between the plant's workers, who sought to keep their jobs, and La Tolteca's owners, who expected to receive the plant free of obligations. With the intervention of the Hidalgo state government, the company was expropriated on grounds of public utility and handed to its workers. The cooperative was established on 2 November 1931 by 192 founding members, who agreed to purchase the company for 1,312,555.66 pesos. The workers undertook to pay the price plus ten per cent interest over ten years to the investors owed compensation, and completed the payments in nine. The cooperative was formally constituted in January 1934, when it was registered with the then Secretaría de Economía Nacional.

On 27 April 1940, the cooperative approved the construction of a second plant in Lagunas, in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region of Oaxaca.

Álvarez Macías era (1953–1976)

On 10 December 1953, the general assembly of members placed the company under the leadership of Guillermo Álvarez Macías. During the 1960s, cooperative towns were planned around the Hidalgo and Lagunas plants, and in 1961 the cooperative's football team, Cruz Azul, entered professional football in the Segunda División. Álvarez Macías led the cooperative until his death in 1976.

Becerril and Álvarez Cuevas (1976–2020)

Following Álvarez Macías's death, Joel Luis Becerril Benítez was elected to lead the cooperative in 1978. Ten years later, in 1988, the cooperative appointed Guillermo Álvarez Cuevas, son of Álvarez Macías, as its director; he had been president of the football club since 1986. Álvarez Cuevas remained in charge for over three decades, until his resignation in August 2020 amid investigations into alleged financial irregularities.

Leadership dispute (2020–present)

In 2020, arrest warrants were issued against Álvarez Cuevas on charges including organised crime, money laundering and fraudulent administration. In August 2020, Mexico City police seized the cooperative's corporate offices on Periférico Sur, in the borough of Coyoacán, under a court order. Álvarez Cuevas's departure was followed by a dispute between rival groups of members over control of the cooperative and its assets. The Hidalgo plant at Tula de Allende remained under the control of a group aligned with Álvarez Cuevas and ceased operating in 2021; at the time, it accounted for around 35 per cent of the cooperative's revenue. Víctor Velázquez Rangel became president of the cooperative's board of directors.

On 27 July 2021, a video surfaced showing some 30 people illegally entering the Lagunas plant in Oaxaca and firing shots; no injuries were reported. In the early hours of 27 April 2022, a clash between the rival groups over control of the Tula plant left eight people dead and 11 injured, according to Hidalgo governor Omar Fayad; nine people were arrested. Ten of those detained were later formally charged with offences including homicide. In September 2024, a further attempt by around 300 people to seize the Tula plant left about 20 people injured; 120 were detained.

In 2011, the cooperative was Mexico's third-largest cement producer, behind Cemex and Holcim Apasco, with an annual capacity of about 8.5 million tonnes and a market share of around 16 per cent; by 2013 its share had risen to 18.7 per cent. By 2024, it reported revenue of 29,754 million pesos and 2,000 employees, remaining third by revenue behind Cemex and Holcim México. The cooperative operates cement plants in Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla and Aguascalientes, and is building a fifth in Campeche. The plants in Puebla and Aguascalientes are run through its subsidiaries CYCNA and CYCNA de Oriente.

Hidalgo

The plant at Ciudad Cooperativa Cruz Azul, in the municipality of Tula de Allende, is the company's original site. Before it stopped operating in 2021 amid the cooperative's control dispute, it accounted for around 35 per cent of the cooperative's revenue and up to 40 per cent of its production. In October 2024, the cooperative's legal director estimated its losses from the plant's closure at over US$1.26 billion. After regaining the plant in 2026, the cooperative announced a rehabilitation programme of 6,500 million pesos, including a new production line, with an expected capacity of three million tonnes of cement a year.

Oaxaca

The plant at Lagunas, in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, was approved in 1940. In August 2023, the cooperative inaugurated a fifth kiln at the plant, adding 3,700 tonnes a day of clinker capacity, as part of upgrades totalling US$301 million. A new cement mill, costing nearly US$40 million, was begun in 2024.

Puebla

The plant at Palmar de Bravo, operated by CYCNA de Oriente, opened in March 2007 after an investment of US$350 million, with an initial capacity of one million tonnes a year. A second production line opened in December 2015; Álvarez Cuevas said it raised the plant's capacity to 2.7 million tonnes a year. In September 2023, CYCNA de Oriente opened a paper-bag factory beside the cement plant, at a cost of around US$20 million.