- Violence linked to organized crime dominates Mexican elections, impacting security
- Candidate Jorge Huerta Cabrera shot at Puebla rally, escalating violence in elections
- 2024 election season sees record 37 candidate assassinations, surpassing 2021
Two days prior to the elections, a candidate for municipal office in central Puebla state was fatally shot at a political rally, further exacerbating the number of murdered candidates in what is considered the most violent polls in the country’s history.
According to the state prosecutor’s office, Jorge Huerta Cabrera was fatally shot on Friday in the city of Izucar de Matamoros, where he was a candidate.
The attack, which was documented on video, also resulted in the injuries of the candidate’s wife and one of his colleagues. After the bullets were fired, the footage captured the chaos that ensued at the rally.
According to data from security consultancy Integralia, the assassination brings the total number of assassinated candidates in the 2024 election season to 37, one more than the 36 candidates who were killed during the 2021 midterm election.
Nevertheless, the federal government has reported the deaths of 22 candidates as of Tuesday. Three additional fatalities have been documented since that time, according to the AFP news agency.
Integral has also recorded 828 non-lethal assaults on candidates during the current election season, an increase from 749 since Monday.
Campaigning for the upcoming elections on Sunday, which will elect a new president, federal legislators, state governors, and thousands of local officials, has been characterized by a surge in assaults against candidates that occurred over the past week.
The campaign period for the vote concluded on Wednesday, during which approximately 100 million Mexicans, out of a total population of 129 million, were eligible to submit ballots.
For a long time, politicians from a variety of political parties, particularly those who occupy or are pursuing regional positions, have been killed by violence associated with organized crime in Mexico.
Drug cartels have frequently made attempts at assassination in an effort to extort money from municipal governments or control local police.
Eduardo Bohorquez, the director of Transparency International Mexico, has disclosed that the violence that is currently being experienced in the country is the result of corrupt politicians and organized crime pursuing political positions of control.
He stated, “It is because they assume control of the office.” They have the option to acquire the candidate and all of the candidates. It is exceedingly simple to finance through illicit means.
The election agenda is dominated by violence.
The issue of violent crime has become one of the most prominent topics in this year’s presidential contest. The governing party of outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been compelled to defend a persistently high murder rate, as the opposition has attempted to use the bloodshed to advocate for change.
It is generally anticipated that Claudia Sheinbaum, a candidate for the governing party, will emerge victorious in Sunday’s election and become the first female president of Mexico. Her primary adversary is another woman, Xochitl Galvez.
The victor will face significant obstacles in confronting the cartel violence that is responsible for the daily occurrence of murder and kidnapping in Mexico.
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According to Rene Valencia, a mayoral candidate for Morelia, the state “possesses the capacity to halt the violence but is unwilling to address crime due to its revenue-generating potential.”
“It generates profits, bribes, and money.” He stated that a victim is merely a statistic, while a delinquent generates revenue for the authorities.
During a campaign rally in southern Guerrero state earlier this week, a local mayoral candidate was fatally shot at point-blank range.
He was one of 560 candidates and election officials who were provided with security officers by the government as a result of persistent threats.
