Gisela Gaytan, a 37-year-old attorney and political aspirant, was tragically murdered at the inaugural rally of her campaign on April 1st – marking her the 36th candidate to face such a tragic fate in Mexico’s increasingly violent electoral season since the preceding summer. In response to escalating violence, law enforcement in her home state of Guanajuato has had to extend protection to 255 regional candidates.
Since Gaytan’s death, eight more prospective candidates for the upcoming elections scheduled for Sunday, have been brutally killed throughout numerous regions in the country. Additionally, the death toll also includes 14 close family members of candidates evidently targeted by rampant drug cartels. These organised crime groups are expanding their area of influence by exploiting the local governmental bodies and engaging in illicit activities including arms and human trafficking, and myriad other illicit activities, including money laundering, food production and running protection rackets.
Estimations suggest that these criminal organisations exert control over more than a third of Mexican territory, contributing significantly to the wave of violence sweeping the country; mass killings are equally pervasive. One such incident in Guanajuato, led to the deaths of eleven individuals at a Christmas gathering. Moreover, even Chiapas state, previously relatively safe, has borne witness to violence, with a mayoral candidate and seven others being assassinated only this month.
The shocking murder statistics do not account for the unprecedented numbers of individuals reported missing in the nation, a figure that reached nearly 115,000 last year, with 43,000 of these disappearances taking place under the present presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Mexico finds itself in a precarious situation, with its democratic values being pressure-tested like never before. In the forthcoming local and national elections, there are over 20,000 local and 600 federal positions for candidates to contest.
Lopez Obrador’s strategy against the cartels has been controversial, focusing on lifting people out of poverty, thereby discouraging them from joining these gangs, rather than taking a hard-line approach against them on the streets. Critics argue that this tactic undermines the severity of the problem, which has only escalated during his tenure. Despite the criticism, the president retains an impressive approval rating of 65% with hopes to pass the mantle to Claudia Sheinbaum, a fellow party member.
Drug cartels are gradually assuming governance of several municipalities throughout Mexico. Numerous candidates are withdrawing from the electoral races while several political parties are retreating from places where they can’t find viable candidates. The fabric of democracy in Mexico hangs in the balance as its citizens prepare to vote in the coming Sunday elections.