MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – More than a hundred crimes by Mexican officials and candidates in recent months indicate that the country’s by-elections are becoming the most violent in decades, local consulting firm Etellekt said 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 these crimes is lower than in the 2018 elections, but it is growing,” said Ruben Salazar, director of consulting.
“Only in March, a politician was assassinated every day. If this rate continues, it could be the most violent election 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, or 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 kidnappings, robbery, violence and threats, among other crimes, the report released on Friday.
Rosa Rodriguez, the head of the Ministry of Security, promised this week a protection plan for the candidates. The plan sets out protocols based on the level of political violence, the incidence of crime and the risks to the electoral process, Rodriguez said.
Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Leslie Adler