“Voting between bullets” in Mexico: five candidates were murdered in February alone and there are already 10 during the year

General elections will be held in Mexico on June 2. And this year at least 10 candidates have already been murdered. About five in February alone, the civil organization Data Cívica reported on Friday. .

The number of homicides related to political violence and drug trafficking it rises to 36 considering this too public officials and relatives of politiciansdetailed February’s “Vote Through the Bullets” report.

Among the candidates murdered in February there is one from the National Action Party, in opposition (BREAD), three from the ruling National Regeneration Movement (Morena) and another from the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM), an ally of the Government.

The deceased candidates Jaime Vera, PVEM candidate for mayor of Mascota in Jalisco; Yair Martín Romero, candidate for federal representative of Morena of the State of Mexico, and Manuel Hernández, who sought to be local representative of Morena in Veracruz.

Completing the list are Miguel Ángel Zavala, from Morena, and Armando Pérez Luna, from the PAN, who aspired to be municipal presidents of Maravatío in Michoacán.

Attacks and threats

Furthermore, Data Cívica has registered an armed attack, a threat and an attack against other candidates, both from the governing party and from the opposition.

“In February we recorded the same level of violence against candidates as in January elections: 5 murders and 3 more non-lethal attacks (attack, armed attack and threat). Although there were many more murders of security officials,” report noted .

In total, Data Cívica recorded 58 events associated with political-criminal violence in the month of February, inclusive threats, murders, armed attacks, attacks and kidnappings.

The 10 murders that occurred in the first two months of 2024 are added to the 11 murders of candidates, pre-candidates and former candidates documented by Data Cívica starting from the second half of 2023, when the current electoral process began which will culminate with the elections of June 2.

From January 2018 to December 2023, the organization documented 105 murders of candidates, pre-candidates, and former candidates.

Also considering attacks and threats, the association reported 574 acts of criminal-electoral violence in 2023, the highest number since this record began.

Mexico celebrates the largest elections in its history on June 2, when more than 97 million people will be called to renew 20,375 federal positions, including the Presidency of the Republic, the 500 seats of the Chamber of Deputies and the 128 of the Senate, as well as nine state governments.