By Lizbeth Diaz
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s elections are now the bloodiest in modern history after a candidate running for local office in the central state of Puebla was killed during a political rally on Friday, increasing the number of candidates killed before the Sunday’s vote came to 37.
Jorge Huerta Cabrera, a candidate running for a council seat in the city of Izucar de Matamoros, was shot in the attack, according to prosecutors.
The killing brings the number of candidates killed in the 2024 election season to 37, one more than the 2021 midterm elections, when 36 candidates were killed, according to data from security consultancy Integralia.
The issue of violent crime has emerged as one of the key issues in this year’s presidential election, in which the ruling party of outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been forced to defend a persistently high murder rate as the opposition has tried to use to turn the bloodshed into advocating for change.
Governing hopeful Claudia Sheinbaum is widely expected to win Sunday’s election and become Mexico’s first female president.
“It is possible that violence is used as a means to predetermine the elections, especially when certain interests are perceived to be at risk if a particular political project wins,” said Armando Vargas, researcher at Integralia.
The consultancy has also counted 828 non-fatal attacks on candidates during the current election season, up from 749 since Monday.
Analysts point out that Mexico’s mix of powerful drug cartels and often corrupt local governments contributes to the dangers the candidates face.
Earlier this week, a local mayoral candidate in the southern state of Guerrero was shot at close range during a campaign rally.
He was among 560 candidates and election officials assigned guards by the government due to persistent threats.
Friday’s gruesome murder was captured on video, with chaos erupting at the gathering after shots rang out.
(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Tom Hogue)
