They massacred a candidate PVEM-Morena and her mother, former member of the PRI: the assassinations of politicians do not stop

This morning, Gladys Merlín Castro, former Member of Parliament for Cosoleacaque, Veracruz, and her daughter, Carla Enríquez Merlín, they were murdered in their house. It is one more crime in the long list of homicides linked to the political climate.

The last election period was the most violent in recent Mexican history, leaving a wake of fear and attacks on candidates, pre-candidates and politicians which were part of the criminal process that is still going on in the country due to the fragmentation and reorganization of the drug cartels.

The 2018 political campaign recorded a balance of 152 politicians assassinated -48 pre-candidates and candidates- and 774 attacks against politicians and 429 against unelected officials, according to the consultant’s report Etellekt.

What was uncovered by the consulting firm indicates that 90% of the attacks documented in its report were against local elected officials and candidates, and this has been attributed to the interest of organized crime in politically controlling localities through the police, as well as water and electricity services.

It also showed that violence against politicians was concentrated in certain interconnected municipalities, which meant that we were trying to have some shielding and some control.

Political violence in the 2018 electoral process also did not discriminate on the basis of gender: of the 28 candidates murdered, 17 were women.

One of the murders that had an impact during the campaign was that of Fernando Purón Johnston, candidate for federal deputy from Coahuila. Security cameras captured the moment a man walks up and shoots him in the neck while taking a photo with a follower.

Another case was that of Sebastian Alejandro Espejel Gómez, candidate of the right-wing National Action Party (PAN) for councilor of the municipal council of Tepetlaoxtoc, State of Mexico. Who was shot and left his body outside a business premises.

Even Sunday July 1, 2018, polling day, at least 138 assaults and 7 murders in 26 entities.

After election day they were murdered Zenón Cocula Fierros, elected councilor of Morena in San Pedro Tlaquepaque, Jalisco; Elíseo Delgado Sánchez, elected mayor of Buenavista, Michoacán; Yes José Medel Jimenez, President of the Commissariat aux Biens Communaux of the city of San Miguel Chimalpa, Oaxaca; just to mention a few.

Most of the murdered politicians were from the PRI-PVEM-NA Coalition; then 39 came from PAN-PRD-MC Coalition; 20 out Morena-PT-PES; and 13 were from rest of the parts.

States in which the greatest number of attacks on politicians were reported Puebla (62), Guerrero (53) and the State of Mexico, with 40. On the contrary, the one that seems to be the safest for politicians was Nuevo León, as no assaults were reported there. As regards the murders, the majority took place in Guerrero (27 years old) and Oaxaca (19 years old).

Those killed during the election period (152 politicians and 371 civil servants) represented the 2.5 percent of the total Intentional homicides recorded across the country from September 2017 to May this year, where they were reported 20,439 cases. The latter translates to during this period, out of 100 intentional homicides, more than two involved politicians or civil servants.

Calls for attention to electoral violence in Mexico during the 2017-2018 electoral process came from international organizations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Organization of American States (OAS). In May 2018, the IACHR issued a press release entitled IACHR observes violence during electoral process in Mexico.

The murders took place across the country, covering all 32 states and 566 municipalities. Of the total number of politicians killed, 28 were pre-candidates, 20 candidates, 15 aspired to municipal office, 4 to deputies and one to federal deputation.

In fact, thanks to these elections, the murders of politicians in the country have increased by 55% in 2018, because the previous year, they were 15 victims. Of the 159 murders, 23 were women and 136 were men, the report said, which recorded data from Jan.1 to Dec.31, 2018.

These killings endanger the holding of elections at the local level, in addition to terrorizing the citizens of the communes and districts in which the victims sought to participate, and even hampering citizen participation in the elections.

Some experts believe that the killing of politicians can affect both supply (i.e. candidacies) and demand (voting), in the political process, as well as the quality of municipal governments and their multiple socio-economic outcomes.

In September 2020, the electoral process began to renew the Chamber of Deputies, as well as the governorates, municipalities and mayors of the country’s 32 states. Election day will take place on June 6, 2021, these are the most important votes in the country.

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