The murder of Noe Ramos Ferretiz in Tamaulipas and Alberto Garcia in Oaxaca brought to 17 the number of candidates murdered before the June 2 elections.
Two mayoral candidates were found dead in a single day in Mexico, increasing the number of candidates killed in what appears to be the most violent election on record in the country.
The deaths reported in different parts of the country on Friday bring to 17 the number of candidates killed ahead of the presidential, parliamentary and local elections on June 2.
In the northern state of Tamaulipas, authorities said they had launched a manhunt for the person who killed candidate Noe Ramos Ferretiz. He was seeking re-election as mayor of Ciudad Mante by a coalition of the opposition National Action Party and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
Local media reported he had been stabbed and published photos showing a bloodied body lying on the sidewalk.
“We will not allow violence to decide these elections”, wrote the leader of the PRI party, Alejandro Moreno, on social media, where he confirmed the “cowardly murder” of Ramos Ferretiz.
The second murdered candidate, Alberto Garcia, was found dead the day after he was reported missing. He was running for mayor of San Jose Independencia, in the southern state of Oaxaca.
The state electoral board condemned the death of Garcia, who disappeared together with his wife, current mayor of San José Independencia, and was found alive. The council classified Garcia’s death as a “murder” and said such crimes “should not occur during elections.”
Candidates’ bodyguards
Violence linked to organized crime in Mexico has long killed politicians from various parties, especially those holding or seeking regional office.
Drug cartels have often carried out such assassination attempts in an attempt to control local police or extort money from municipal governments.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledged in early April that cartels often seek to determine who will be mayor – by presenting their own candidates or eliminating potential rivals.
“They make a deal and say: ‘This person is going to be mayor; we don’t want anyone else to register to run’, and whoever does, well, they know [what to expect],” he said.
The recent murders have prompted the government to provide bodyguards for around 250 candidates, while those running for municipal office – the most threatened – are last in line for security.
Earlier this month, candidate Bertha Gaytan was shot dead on the first day of her campaign. She was running for mayor of Celaya, a city in the north-central state of Guanajuato.
Also in April, the mayor of Churumuco, a city in the western state of Michoacán, was shot dead in a taco restaurant in the state capital, Morelia.
At the end of February, in another city in Michoacan, two mayoral candidates were shot to death within hours of each other.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
