Mexican mayoral candidate murdered at campaign rally
EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / National Guard members stand guard as investigators from the prosecutor’s office, state police, and forensic personnel work at a crime scene where five people were murdered in a craft market during a wave of violence hitting the tourist port of Acapulco, Guerrero State, Mexico, on May 23, 2024. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse
ACAPULCO — An aspiring mayor was shot dead in southern Mexico Wednesday during a campaign rally, the Guerrero state governor said, the latest in a string of attacks ahead of weekend elections.
A video published by local media showed a person approaching Alfredo Cabrera and shooting him several times, causing chaos and panic among people attending the event.
Guerrero governor Evelyn Salgado condemned the “cowardly” murder of Cabrera, a candidate for an opposition coalition in the town of Coyuca de Benitez.
READ: Mexico to deploy 27,000 troops for election security
Writing on social media platform X, she said she had asked the state prosecutor’s office to bring “the full weight of the law against the person or persons responsible.”
The prosecutor’s office later announced that the alleged attacker had been killed at the scene.
The government said Tuesday that at least 22 people running for local office had been murdered since last September.
Some non-governmental organizations have reported an even higher number, including Data Civica, which has counted around 30 murders of local politicians.
READ: Mayoral candidate murdered in Mexico amid rising political violence
On Tuesday, a mayoral candidate in the central state of Morelos was murdered while another one was wounded by gunfire in western Jalisco state, authorities said.
The PRI, one of the opposition coalition parties, accused the government of having “not made even the slightest effort to guarantee the safety of the candidates.”
Around 27,000 soldiers and National Guard members will be deployed to reinforce security on Sunday, when Mexicans will vote for a new president, members of Congress, several state governors and myriad local officials.
