{"id":19889,"date":"2024-06-02T12:49:01","date_gmt":"2024-06-02T12:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/02\/mexicans-go-to-the-polls-amid-record-violence-against-candidates-officials\/"},"modified":"2024-06-02T12:49:01","modified_gmt":"2024-06-02T12:49:01","slug":"mexicans-go-to-the-polls-amid-record-violence-against-candidates-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/02\/mexicans-go-to-the-polls-amid-record-violence-against-candidates-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexicans go to the polls amid record violence against candidates, officials"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u2013 As Mexicans prepare to vote in the country\u2019s presidential election on Sunday, 2024 has proven to be one of the most violent years for candidates and election officials in the country, with more than 225 killed, according to reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Jos\u00e9 Alfredo Cabrera Barrientos was murdered in front of supporters while campaigning for mayor of Coyuca de Benitez, in Guerrero state. He was ahead in the polls, in a region where the cartels are particularly strong.<\/p>\n

According to Data C\u00edvica, the victims of electoral political violence increased 235.7% from 2018 to 2023, during the term of the Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador (AMLO) administration, with 2024 being the most violent year so far.<\/p>\n

\u2018I was leaving a neighborhood assembly late at night in the Peralvillo neighborhood when I suffered a cowardly attack. They shot me 6 times while I was inside my vehicle,\u2019 said Alessandra Rojo de la Vega, candidate for mayor of Alcald\u00eda Cuauht\u00e9moc in Mexico City, who survived an assassination attempt a few days ago, in comments to Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

She blamed the lack of security being provided by officials. \u2018This has not been the worst thing I have had to go through, but rather facing a prosecutor\u2019s office that responds to government orders. I have been fighting for women victims of violence for 6 years so that they have access to justice. We help 30 women a day here in Mexico City and I know what the prosecutor\u2019s office does, the criminal negligence with which they act. And when it happens to you, it feels so much deeper.\u2019<\/p>\n

While the Mexican president\u2019s spokesperson did not respond to Fox News Digital, Reuters recently reported that AMLO deemed the new data \u2018sensationalism.\u2019 The Reuters report noted that AMLO defended his record, pointing to a drop of 5% in homicides in 2023 compared to 2022. \u00a0<\/p>\n

According to a report from the Mexican consulting firm Integralia, political violence has left 701 victims from September 2023 to May 19, 2024, including 225 murders of candidates, politicians or former officials seeking office on June 2.<\/p>\n

Candidate Rojo de la Vega complained that, \u2018No authority has called me to inform me about how the investigation is going. I have 60 complaints to different authorities for the violence that I have experienced throughout my campaign in Cuauht\u00e9moc and all the demands have been ignored, with the impunity that characterizes this government.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018The government blames and despises the victims. It is happening to me, and it has happened to thousands of women and Mexicans throughout the country. I am grateful to have the opportunity to make my case visible \u2026the lack of justice and impunity that exists in Mexico which, far from protecting victims, favors criminals.\u2019<\/p>\n

According to a special report on political violence, \u2018Map of risks of criminal interference in local elections 2024,\u2019 produced by Integralia, \u2018Organized crime interferes in elections through: murders, attacks and threats against public officials and candidates, campaign financing, imposition of candidates, mobilization or inhibition of the vote, and alteration of the voting process during the election day.\u2019<\/p>\n

The states with the \u2018highest risk\u2019 of interference by organized crime in local elections include Guerrero, Michoac\u00e1n, Colima, Jalisco, Chiapas and Morelos, while nine states have a \u2018high risk,\u2019 including Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, State of Mexico, Tabasco and Veracruz.<\/p>\n

The Intergralia report claims that \u2018criminal groups mainly subjugate municipal governments to build their authority, so they can have access to valuable resources (such as collaboration with police) in order to operate with full impunity, to diversify their activities, and neutralize their rivals. Electoral processes offer the opportunity to establish and strengthen criminal authority since the beginning of the new administration.\u2019<\/p>\n

President L\u00f3pez Obrador recently noted that 500 candidates have received federal protection against violence.<\/p>\n

\u2018This time it was my turn. However, this is what all the citizens of Matamoros experience, where confrontations, shootings, and risky situations are experienced every day,\u2019 Leticia Salazar told Fox News Digital. Salazar is a candidate for the municipal presidency of Matamoros. Matamoros is located in Tamaulipas, a border state with the United States.<\/p>\n

\u2018While we toured the Brisas neighborhood, visiting house by house, we encountered a confrontation between criminals and state police. The bullets were very close, but I survived. A family allowed us to take shelter in their home so that the entire team would be safe. Unfortunately, this is what most families in Matamoros suffer. My story is known because I am a candidate seeking the municipal presidency, but it is what the citizens of Matamoros experience every day.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018We need order in the city of Matamoros. Criminals have advanced so much because no one stopped them. One of the most common crimes here is extortion. It happens to many families, merchants, and businessmen. I am determined to put order in the city. Nobody is going to stop us. Nobody is going to intimidate us nor are we going to be afraid, even having suffered this event,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

While Claudia Sheinbaum is ahead in official polling, some analysts are pointing to other polls predicting the election is much closer, even positing that the main opposition candidate X\u00f3chitl G\u00e1lvez\u2019s showing could surprise many.<\/p>\n

Reuters contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2013 As Mexicans prepare to vote in the country\u2019s presidential election on Sunday, 2024 has proven to be one of the most violent years for candidates and election officials in the country, with more than 225 killed, according to reports.\u00a0 On Wednesday, Jos\u00e9 Alfredo Cabrera Barrientos was murdered in front of supporters while campaigning for <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":19890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19889","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}