In Mexico City, a ruling party mayoral candidate was tragically shot and killed on Monday during an event marking the first day of her campaign. Despite requesting security protection from authorities and receiving no response, Gisela Gaytan fell victim to a deadly attack.
Initially, it was reported that a city council candidate had also been fatally shot in the incident. However, the security ministry later clarified that the individual was missing.
During a rally in Celaya, Guanajuato, Gaytan was presenting her security strategy plan when gunmen suddenly opened fire, resulting in her immediate death. The state prosecutor in Guanajuato has launched an investigation into the killing, but no arrests have been made as of yet.
It remains unclear why Gaytan was targeted, but Guanajuato has seen high levels of violence and turf wars among criminal groups in recent years, making it a dangerous environment for political figures.
Experts in security and politics point out that electoral violence often occurs at the municipal level, where criminal organizations try to exert influence to further their control over illicit activities such as drug trafficking.
Vicente Sanchez, a security and politics expert at the College of the Northern Border, highlighted the role of organized crime in deciding which candidates are allowed to run in certain territories, regardless of political affiliations.
The prevalence of political violence in Mexico has been on the rise, with dozens of politicians and candidates being killed in the lead-up to recent elections. Statistics show a significant increase in electoral violence in the country over the past few years.
According to a report by political risk consultancy Integralia, 24 aspiring electoral candidates were killed between September 1 and April 1, while the government reported 14 assassinations of individuals who had publicly declared their intent to run in elections since October 2023.
Gaytan, a former litigator and the only female candidate in the deadly city of Celaya, was running for office under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s ruling MORENA party. The city is known as one of the most dangerous places for police officers in North America.
A video circulating on social media captured the moments leading up to the attack, showing Gaytan’s supporters chanting party slogans before chaos ensued with gunshots ringing out and the crowd scattering. The origin of the video could not be verified by Reuters.
Following the attack, Morena candidate Adrian Guerrero was reported missing by the security ministry, and two other individuals were injured. Gaytan had previously voiced concerns about the lack of security measures provided to her by the state authorities.
Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez pledged to seek justice for the victims and vowed to investigate why Gaytan did not receive the protection she had requested. She noted that Morena had asked for security measures for all its candidates from the National Electoral Institute in March, but Guanajuato’s electoral body had not yet initiated the necessary protocols.
The tragic incident has once again shed light on the dangers faced by politicians in Mexico and the ongoing struggles with electoral violence that plague the country’s democratic processes. The authorities are under pressure to take decisive action to prevent further bloodshed in the lead-up to the upcoming elections.
(Reporting by Sarah Kinosian and Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Rosalba O’Brien)
