MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – More than a hundred assassinations of Mexican officials and candidates in recent months point to the country’s midterm elections becoming the most violent in decades, the consultancy reported. local Etellekt in a report.
Between September 2020 and the first week of March, 126 Mexican politicians and candidates were assassinated.
On June 6, Mexicans will elect 500 lawmakers, 15 governors and more than 20,000 local officials.
“So far, the number of such crimes is lower than that recorded in the 2018 elections, but it is increasing,” said Ruben Salazar, director of the consultancy.
“Only in March was a politician killed on the day. If this pace continues, it could be the most violent elections since the Mexican Revolution, ”he said, referring to the armed conflict between 1910 and 1917.
Salazar said most of the assassinated politicians were members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which was in power several times between 1930 and 2000.
Attacks on all politicians increased by 4%, compared to the 2018 presidential election, with cases of kidnapping, robbery, violence and threats, among other crimes, according to the report on Friday.
Rosa Rodriguez, head of the Ministry of Security, promised a protection plan for candidates this week. The plan establishes protocols based on the level of political violence, the incidence of crime and the risks to the electoral process, Rodriguez said.
Report by Lizbeth Diaz; Edited by Leslie Adler