() – The mayor of a crime-ridden Mexican city was murdered less than a week after taking office, the latest in a series of violent attacks against the country’s politicians.
The murder of Alejandro Arcos Catalán, who took office as mayor of Chilpancingo on October 1, comes just days after the city’s government secretary, Francisco Tapia, was shot dead, and has renewed concerns about the security in a country that recently held its largest and most violent general elections in history.
This Monday, the newly elected president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, described the homicide of Arcos as “unfortunate” and said that her security cabinet would explain this Tuesday “in more detail” the actions that are being taken to address the security problems of the country.
“We are going to deploy the general strategy. We will work in some states with more presence, intelligence and investigation in collaboration with the governors,” Sheinbaum said during his daily press conference.
Chilpancingo is the capital of Guerrero, a state with a reputation for violent crime that is also home to the tourist attraction of Acapulco.
The state governor, Evelyn Salgado, condemned the killing and promised that those responsible would be held accountable. “His loss is lamented by the entire Guerrero society and fills us with indignation,” wrote Salgado in X.
However, the violence faced by Mexican politicians extends far beyond Guerrero, as demonstrated by the historic June 2 election that brought Sheinbaum to power.
With 20,000 electoral seats at stake, the scale of bloodshed committed by those trying to influence the vote was unprecedented.
During the campaign season, at least 34 political candidates were murdered by criminal organizations. And the violence did not stop there. Just hours after Sheinbaum’s election, the mayor of Cotija, in Michoacán, was shot dead.
Blood, fear and votes: politicians suffer attacks in Mexico in the middle of electoral campaigns
According to a report by Integralia Consultants, criminal organizations in Mexico focus politically motivated attacks at the municipal level because mayors can offer them impunity due to their ties to law enforcement and the local economy.
It is alleged that criminal gangs often finance campaigns during the election season, intimidating candidates and violently intervening to force politicians to cooperate with them.
Add Comment