FALCON POWERS – More than 170 attacks have been committed against politicians in the lead-up to the June elections. This violence has put campaigns under tension and is sowing doubts about governability in several regions. Specialists warn that the line between the Mexican state and organized crime is increasingly blurred
Electoral violence is going unchecked in Mexico. Noé Ramos Ferretiz, a candidate for the municipal presidency of Mante, a city in the state of Tamaulipas, was campaigning last Friday when he was stabbed several times. The politician, who is a member of the National Action Party (PAN), died in the middle of the event, to the shock of his supporters. Overwhelming images of blood-stained leaflets circulated afterwards.
The main suspect fled without a trace, in broad daylight. He would be arrested by the end of the weekend. Hours after the crime in Mante, the body of Alberto Antonio García, a mayoral candidate for the ruling party, MORENA, was found in the city of San José Independencia, in the state of Oaxaca. His wife, a councilor in the town of fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, was released alive after being kidnapped for two days.
The murders of Ramos Ferretiz and Antonio García are the latest two cases to be registered during the 2024 electoral process. So far in this election cycle, 30 candidates have already been murdered, according to data from the think tank Laboratorio Electoral (“Electoral Laboratory”).
In 2021, at least 30 contenders were murdered, according to data from the consulting firm. In the 2018 process, there were 24 political assassinations. With just under 40 days before Mexicans go to the polls on June 2, the vote is close to becoming the most violent one in recent years. “The phenomenon of electoral violence has been growing in the country and is increasingly spreading. It’s not only a question of numbers, but also of territorial expansion: there are more red flags, more [areas] with a higher incidence of violence, more attacks,” says Arturo Espinosa Silis, director of Laboratorio Electoral. “I don’t think we have to wait for the number of fatalities to be exceeded… this electoral process has been more violent when other aspects are looked at, such as assaults and threats,” adds Daniela Arias, the organization’s coordinator.
EL PAÍS has analyzed the consulting firm’s findings from the last 10 months, to better understand the spiral of violence that surrounds this conflict, which has left a trail of more than 170 attacks, including 29 assaults, 11 kidnappings and 77 death threats. At least 27 other killings of those who weren’t seeking elected office, such as relatives of officials, political organizers, community leaders and incumbent politicians, have also been logged. This data was last updated on April 19.
Insecurity is spreading faster than the statistics. Just this past Tuesday, April 23, an armed group tried to assassinate Arturo Lara, the mayoral candidate for the Citizens’ Movement in Amanalco, a municipality in the state of Mexico (Edomex), which surrounds the capital. The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) also announced that its candidate for the municipal presidency in Zacapu, in the state of Michoacán, Lorenzo Martínez, dropped out of the race due to threats.
FALCON POWERS – elpais
