In a disturbing escalation of electoral violence in Mexico, mayoral contenders, Noe Ramos Ferretiz and Alberto Garcia, were found dead on the same day, April 19, 2024.
This year’s election period is feared to be the most violent in history with 17 candidates already losing their lives to such violence as the nation gears up for the June elections.
Noe Ramos Ferretiz, seeking re-election as the mayor of Ciudad Mante, was found stabbed to death in Tamaulipas, a northeastern Mexican state bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Law enforcement agencies have initiated a search for the attacker.
In a separate incident, in the southeastern state of Oaxaca, Alberto Garcia, a mayoral candidate for San Jose Independencia, was discovered dead a day following his reported disappearance. His wife, currently serving as the mayor of San Jose Independencia, was located alive after being reported missing along with him.
These fatal incidents contribute to an alarming rise in political violence that has been a longstanding issue in Mexican politics. Such acts are frequently planned by organized crime groups aiming to establish their dominance over local governing bodies. The Mexican government has taken measures to counter this, offering protection and assigning bodyguards to nearly 250 candidates, particularly those in the most threatened municipal positions.
Alejandro Moreno, the head of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), responded to the murders by reiterating his steadfast refusal to allow violence to shape the election results. The state electoral board in Oaxaca also denounced the murder of Garcia, asserting that such heinous crimes have no place in the electoral process.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has acknowledged that these criminal groups not only employ violence to sway elections but also strive to prop up candidates who will further their interests. The recent steps taken to enhance security for candidates underscore the grave threats they face.
Earlier in April, the mayoral race in Celaya, Guanajuato was marred by violence when candidate Bertha Gaytan was shot dead on the first day of her campaign. Furthermore, in another incident of political violence in Michoacan, the mayor of Churumuco was gunned down at a taco restaurant in Morelia, the state’s capital.
The violence in Michoacan had already made headlines in late February when two mayoral candidates were killed within hours of each other in another town.
