Dozens of candidates murdered ahead of Mexico’s June 6 elections
On Sunday, the largest elections in the history of México will be held. But this electoral process has been tainted by the murder of at least 91 politicians — 36 of them candidates and aspiring candidates — from different parties, taking place since campaigning began in September 2020.
These homicides make this election the second most violent in the country's history since 2000. For political scientist and journalist Karina Aguilar, columnist and reporter for the daily newspaper 24 Horas, this is due to the polarization that exists in the country, product of the policies enacted by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
“The polarization that exists in the country is tremendous. It is the side for López Obrador and the side against López Obrador — and neither accepts half measures. That has made this process different from other elections,” Aguilar said.
Etellekt, a security consulting firm based in México City, recently released its sixth issue of the report titled "Political Violence in México," in which it recounts the 91 homicides that have occurred since September 2020. The firm found that of the 36 candidates killed, 22 of them were aspiring and 14 were registered as official candidates.
Of the 91 murdered, 14 were women — seven of them candidates or aspiring candidates.
Alongside the visible division, noted by Aguilar, the participation of organized crime also plays a key role.
“The states that have registered the most violence during this season are Colima, Guerrero, Veracrúz, Chiapas,” she said. “We are talking about very strong drug cartels that are manipulating the entire election.”
Although campaigning officially ended on May 31, various civic organizations warned that the week leading up to the election could see an increase in violence.
A testament to this is the two most recent murders.
René Tovar Tovar, a candidate for the mayoral seat of Cazones de Herrera, Veracrúz, was murdered on Friday, two days before the election on June 6.
That same day, Roberto Pérez Ángeles, a National Action Party (PAN) sympathizer, was also killed in Apaseo el Grande, Guanajuato.
“The divisiveness is there, at the center of the country, even if we refuse to see it,” said Aguilar. “So when we talk about this being one of the most violent elections since 2000, we can see it in the numbers.
“There are characters that have wanted to take advantage of this (violence) and use it to get ahead,” Aguilar said. “Like a candidate from the Green Party who faked his kidnapping and was later found in a hotel room. He had done this to boost his numbers with sympathizers.”
Aguilar is referring to Porfirio Lima, a candidate for mayor of Acajete, Querétaro, who was reported missing on May 29, only to be found two days later in a hotel room in the state’s capital. State investigators concluded that Lima was not kidnapped and had instead booked a hotel room under a fake name, obscuring his whereabouts.
Another candidate for mayor of Cutzamala de Pinzón, Guerrero, Marilú Martínez Núñez, had been reportedly kidnapped on June 2. She was later located safe and sound, and, according to the state’s Gov. Héctor Astudillo, what happened to her was in fact not a kidnapping. The investigation into her case is ongoing.
Despite it all, Aguilar remains hopeful, expecting this election day — the largest in its history with over 500 seats up for grabs around the country — to be a peaceful one.
Candidates lost to this election
Nov. 25, 2020: Antonio Hernández Godínez, Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), Chilapa, Guerrero.
Jan. 12: Juan Antonio Acosta, PAN, Santa Cruz de Juventino Rosas, Guanajuato.
Feb. 15: Carla Enríquez Merlín, National Regeneration Movement (Morena), Cosoleacaque, Veracrúz.
Feb. 24: Ignacio Sánchez Cordero, Green Ecological Party of México (PVEM), Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo.
March 4: Yuriel Armando González Lara, Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua.
March 4: Melquiades Vázquez Lucas, PRI, La Perla, Veracrúz.
March 11: Alfredo Sevilla, Citizen Movement (MC), Casimiro Castillo, Jalisco.
March 17: Pedro Gutiérrez, Morena, Chilón, Chiapas.
March 20: Ivonne Gallegos, Va Por Oaxaca, Ocotlán, Oaxaca.
March 30: Alejandro Galicia, PRD, Apaseo el Grande, Guanajuato.
April 24: Francisco Gerardo Rocha Chávez, PVEM, Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas.
May 14: Abel Murrieta, MC, Cajeme, Sonora.
May 23: Arturo Flores Bautista, PRI, Landa de Matamoros, Querétaro.
May 25: Alma Rosa Barragán, MC, Moroleón, Guanajuato.
May 28: Cipriano Villanueva, Chiapas Unido Party, Acapetahua, Chiapas.
The law in Mexico stipulates that candidates of any party can request federal protection if they consider themselves to be in any kind of danger, if they have received threats or have been the object of any attack during an electoral period.
The Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection then evaluates the request and grants protection, but according to the Secretary of the Interior Olga Sánchez Cordero, not all the candidates involved in these violent attacks made that request.