130 Mexican Political Candidates Assassinated in 10 Months

Political assassinations, murders, and violence continue to escalate as Mexico’s elections approach. In the 10 months since the election cycle started, nearly 130 political candidates were murdered.

The most recent took place this week in Buena Vista Michoacan when a team of cartel gunmen shot and killed Javier Ureña Gonzalez, the acting mayor for the municipality as he visited a small village. Ureña assumed the role of acting mayor while his boss Lorenzo Barajas took leave to run for re-election. Ureña’s murder comes one day after a Oaxaca state congressional candidate was gunned down along with four of his associates. A team of gunmen killed Emigdio Lopez Avendaño as he was visiting the town of San Vicente Coatlan in the southern part of the state. Earlier this week, a local campaign worker in the border city of Miguel Aleman, Tamaulipas, died when he drove up to the scene of a cartel gun-battle. Leonardo “El Chino” Diaz and another campaign worker were driving along the highway when they were caught in crossfire. The van that Diaz was riding in caught fire, charring his remains. In response, local candidates canceled their campaign events. (Read more)

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