(RepublicanPress.org) – Tensions tend to increase around election time, with voters wanting the people they select to win over opponents from the other side. In Maravatio, Mexico, that feeling reached a whole other level, leaving candidates for the town’s mayoral race in fear for their very lives.
On February 27, AP News reported that two mayoral hopefuls for Maravatio who were about to start campaigning were shot to death within a span of about a day. Gynecologist Miguel Ángel Zavala, described by one of his patients as “one of the best” doctors in the area, was gunned down in his car. The other upcoming mayoral candidate, Armando Pérez Luna, was also found shot to death in his vehicle the following day.
According to reports, drug cartels are a problem in the area, and experts warn the June 2 election will be the most violent yet. In 2021, there was a nationwide election, and about 36 candidates were murdered.
Two mayoral hopefuls in the Mexican city of Maravatio have been gunned down within hours of each other, as experts warn the June 2 national elections could be the country’s most violent on record:https://t.co/5mms4plWkK
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) February 28, 2024
The Mexico Daily Post reported that witnesses saw two people leave their car and assault Zavala in Maravatio. Authorities reportedly found cartridges from a short weapon in the vicinity. Maravatío Municipal Police immediately began an investigation to find the perpetrators but have no leads so far. This would have been the first time Zavala ran for office. He would have been running for the Morena party. The news outlet said attacks on politicians are nothing new in Mexico, as it has happened in several other states.
Luna was also found in Maravatio. He was set to run his campaign under the National Action Party. The party’s leader, Marko Cortés, said the tragedy highlighted the “extremely serious level of violence and lack of safety” during election cycles in Mexico. The Morena party called the acts “cowardly and reprehensible” in a statement, according to The Associated Press.
Civic Data stated five people running for office were killed in January. and the “biggest attacks” have come from “organized crime.”
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