Organized crime attacks on local candidates raise fears Mexico may face its bloodiest elections ever

As Mexico prepares for the largest elections in its history, organised crime is once again targeting local politicians in areas where cartels rule, sparking worries among experts that these might be Mexico’s deadliest elections yet.

In the southern state of Guerrero, Julián López, the coordinator of the Citizen Movement party, witnessed it firsthand on February 7, when he and two coworkers were kidnapped by gunmen brandishing rifles while driving. After being battered and robbed of his belongings, 43-year-old Lopez was forced to kneel next to a distant landfill before being left alone in the middle of the night.

Not so lucky were two mayoral candidates in the nearby state of Michoacan, located in the municipality of Maravatio. Gunmen killed them within hours of each other on Monday. One was from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party, while the other came from the conservative National Action Party. A third mayoral candidate from that town was kidnapped and killed in November.

On February 10, a guy running for Congress for the Morena party in the huge Mexico City neighbourhood of Ecatepec was tragically murdered in the street with his brother. He apparently faced threats from a local union.