Mexico City – As Mexicans prepare to cast their ballots in Sunday’s presidential election, reports suggest 2024 has been one of the country’s most violent years for candidates and election officials, with more than 225 people killed.
Jose Alfredo Cabrerra Barrientos was killed on Wednesday in front of his supporters while campaigning for mayor of Coyuca de Benitez in Guerrero state, where he was leading in opinion polls in an area where drug cartels have had a particularly strong presence.
According to Data Cívica, during the term of the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), the number of victims of political violence surrounding the elections increased by 235.7% from 2018 to 2023, making 2024 the most violent year to date.
“I was returning home late at night from a rally in the Peralbillo neighborhood when I was attacked in a cowardly manner. They shot me six times while I was in my car,” Alessandra Rojo de la Vega, mayoral candidate for Mexico City’s Alcaldia Cuauhtémoc, who survived an assassination attempt a few days ago, told Fox News Digital.
She blamed the authorities for insufficient security: “This was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced, it was more that I was faced with a prosecutor’s office that follows the government’s orders. I’ve been fighting for six years for women victims of violence to get justice. We help 30 women a day in Mexico City, I know what the prosecutor’s office does, with what criminal negligence they act. And when it happens to you, it makes me feel even more sad.”
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A soldier walks through the area where a person searching through recycled items discovered explosives in Mexicali, Mexico, on May 27, 2024. (Reuters/Victor Medina)
A spokesman for the Mexican president did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital, but Reuters recently AMLO deemed the new data “sensational.” He defended his record, pointing to a 5% decrease in homicides in 2023 compared to 2022, Reuters reported.
According to a report by Mexican consulting firm Integria, political violence resulted in 701 casualties between September 2023 and May 19, 2024, including 225 killings of candidates, politicians and former officials campaigning on June 2.
Mexico City mayoral candidate Claudia Sheinbaum (center) speaks during the final event of her 2018 presidential election campaign at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on June 27, 2018. (Photo by Carlos Tischler/Getty Images)
Candidate Rojo de la Vega complained that “no authority has called me to inform me of the progress of the investigation. I have filed 60 complaints with different authorities about the violence I experienced during the election campaign in Cuauhtémoc, but all my requests have been ignored and the impunity that characterizes this government continues.”
“The government blames and belittles the victim. This is what happened to me and to thousands of women and Mexicans across the country. I am happy to have the opportunity to share my case with the public. There is a lack of justice and impunity in Mexico that, far from protecting victims, favors criminals.”
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Candidate Alessandra Rojo de la Vega said she was shot six times while in her car but escaped unharmed. (Alessandra Rojo de la Vega)
According to a special report on political violence prepared by Integria entitled “Criminal interference risk map for the 2024 local elections”, “organized crime will interfere in elections through murder, attacks and intimidation of public officials and candidates, election financing, candidate imposition, mobilization or blocking of votes, and alteration of the voting process on election day.”
States at “highest risk” of organized crime interference in local elections include Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima, Jalisco, Chiapas and Morelos, while nine states are considered at “high risk” – Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, State of Mexico, Tabasco and Veracruz.
Matamoros mayoral candidate Leticia Salazar also said she was a victim of the attack. (Leticia Salazar)
The Intergraria report argues that “criminal groups primarily establish their power by subjugating local authorities and gaining access to valuable resources (such as cooperation with the police) to operate with complete impunity, diversify their activities and neutralize their rivals. The electoral process has provided an opportunity for the new government to establish and consolidate its criminal power since its inception.”
President Lopez Obrador recently noted that 500 candidates have federal protection against violence.
“This time it was my turn, but this is what all the residents of Matamoros are experiencing: clashes, shootings, dangerous situations every day,” Leticia Salazar, a candidate for mayor of Matamoros, in Tamaulipas state on the U.S. border, told Fox News Digital.
Musicians perform during a campaign kickoff rally for Mexican opposition presidential candidate Xochitl Galvez of the United Courage for Mexico party on March 1, 2024 in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico. (ULISES RUIZ/AFP via Getty Images)
“While on our patrol, going door to door in the Brisas neighborhood, we encountered a clash between criminals and state police. The bullets were at close range, but I survived. A family allowed us to take refuge in their home so that the whole team would be safe. Unfortunately, this is something that most families in Matamoros experience. My story is known because I am a candidate for mayor, but the residents of Matamoros experience this every day.”
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Members of the Mexican Army and National Guard take part in “Operation Juarez,” aimed at reducing violence, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on February 17, 2024. (Reuters)
“The city of Matamoros needs order. Criminals have increased so much because no one has stopped them. One of the most common crimes here is extortion. This has happened to many families, merchants and businessmen. I am determined to bring order to the city. No one can stop us, no one can threaten us and we will not be afraid if we suffer what has happened,” she said.
Claudia Scheinbaum is leading in official opinion polls, but some analysts point to other polls that predict the election will be much closer, even arguing that the outcome of main opposition candidate Xochitl Gálvez may surprise many.
Reuters contributed to this report.
