Though she was not found guilty by a jury, many people question a possible interference from the executive branch of the government given the family ties. Moreover, her brother's company, Diego Hildebrando Zavala, was awarded some public contracts both during the administration of Felipe Calderón, and before when he was Secretary of Energy, an issue which some Corruption Watch organizations point out as evidence of conflicts of interest from the former president. Her cousin Luis Felipe Zavala MacGregor was murdered in gang-related violence. Mariana Gomez del Campo, another cousin of her, became president of the National Action Party of Mexico City amid allegations of electoral fraud by other party members. They also accused her of misappropriation of public money from the party's budget, and nepotism as she appointed her own sister, Teresa Gomez del Campo to the local Mexican Youth Institute, known by its acronym in Spanish IMJUVE with a monthly salary of $28,125 pesos which is almost the double of an average salary in Mexico City. Speculations surrounding Zavala's political career began after her husband's presidency ended. She was eyed as the possible leader of the National Action Party, as well as a potential presidential candidate in 2018, though in 2013 she declined both. In September 2014, after two years as private citizen, Zavala revealed her intentions of becoming a candidate for the Mexican Chamber of Deputies. On January 2015, Zavala formally registered as a pre-candidate for a term as a Federal Deputy, through the means of proportional representation in the fourth constituency, stating that Mexico required a Congress capable of balancing power. She was backed by several members of her party, including former presidential candidate Josefina Vázquez Mota. However, she was left out of the first 15 places in the PAN's national list, significantly reducing her chances of winning a position in Congress. A day later, she announced that she would seek the presidency of the PAN, stating that the party needed to change. In February, however, she left open the possibility of running for president in 2018. Zavala campaigned for various PAN candidates at municipal and state levels during the 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 election cycles. On 14 June 2015, Zavala released a video announcing her desire to run as a presidential candidate in 2018. While attending the Guadalajara International Book Fair, she was asked for the three books that impacted her life (commonly asked to presidential candidates), to which she answered: the Bible, "The Price of My Soul" by Bernadette Devlin and "Caudillos culturales en la Revolución Mexicana" by Enrique Krauze.