Two mayoral candidates in Mexico were found dead on Friday, bringing the total number of contenders slain in the lead-up to the June 2 election to 17. One candidate, Noé Ramos Ferretiz, was killed in the northern Mexico border state of Tamaulipas. He was running for a coalition of the opposition National Action Party and Institutional Revolutionary Party and was seeking reelection as mayor of Ciudad Mante. The other candidate, Alberto García, was found dead in the southern state of Oaxaca, a day after he was reported missing. Oaxaca state prosecutors stated that García was apparently beaten to death on an island in a reservoir near San José Independencia, where he was running for mayor.
These deaths add to the rising violence surrounding the June 2 elections, which are shaping up to be the country’s most violent on record. In Tamaulipas, Ramos Ferretiz was reportedly attacked on Friday, with local media stating that he had been stabbed. This state has long been plagued by drug cartel turf wars, although Ciudad Mante is situated in the southern part of the state, away from the more notorious border cities. Alejandro Moreno, the leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, condemned Ramos Ferretiz’s assassination and vowed not to let violence dictate the outcome of the elections.
In Oaxaca, the state electoral board expressed outrage over García’s death and emphasized that such crimes should not occur during elections. The wife of García, who is the current mayor of San José Independencia, was found alive after reportedly going missing alongside her husband earlier in the week. This follows the fatal shooting of mayoral candidate Bertha Gaytán in the state of Guanajuato. Gaytán was killed on a street just hours after she requested protection and began her campaign for mayor of Celaya.
Mexico’s drug cartels frequently target mayors and mayoral candidates in order to control local police forces or extort money from municipal governments. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledged the influence cartels have in determining the outcome of elections, either by running their own candidates or eliminating potential competitors. The recent spike in slayings has led the government to provide security detail for around 250 candidates, with those running for municipal positions being the most at risk. Violence against politicians is a widespread issue in Mexico, with instances of mayors being assassinated in various states, such as Michoacán and Tamaulipas.
