Rocha Moya was born in Batequitas, a locality in Badiraguato, as one of six children[1] and obtained his degree as a mathematics teacher from the Escuela Normal Superior de Oaxaca.

[1] He would remain in Guamúchil until 1980, when he was offered a position as press secretary for the university's teachers' union; during this time, he successfully helped fight attempts by Governor Antonio Toledo Corro to remove the preparatory schools from the UAS system.

[1] After the three-year term ended in 1986, Rocha Moya was a gubernatorial candidate for the leftist Movimiento Popular Sinaloense party[2] and then took a break to pursue his master's degree at the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro.

[1] Rocha returned to Sinaloa in 1989 at the invitation of David Moreno Lizárraga, the newly elected UAS rector, to serve as his secretary general, the second-highest leadership position.

[1] During his tenure, the university began offering its first doctorate degree, constructed new sports facilities and connected its campuses in Culiacán, Los Mochis and Mazatlán by fiber-optic link.

[1] In 2013, due to his PRI connections,[1] Rocha was named the deputy director of training at the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE).