Analysis: Bloody Mexican election campaign exposes chronic security woes
May 23, 2021
7:50 PM CDT
Americas
ELizbeth Diaz
6 minute read
Abel Murrieta was handing out campaign flyers on the street this month when a gunman shot him in broad daylight at point-blank range, making him the latest candidate murdered in one of the bloodiest election campaigns in Mexico's recent history.
Running for mayor in mid-term elections on June 6, Murrieta died in Ciudad Obregon, a city in the northern state of Sonora named for former Mexican president Alvaro Obregon, who was himself shot dead in 1928 before he could begin a second term.
An ex-attorney general of Sonora, Murrieta was the 83rd politician killed in Mexico since September, according to Etellekt, a security consultancy. Two more have since followed.
The bloodshed has underlined President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's difficulty in containing gang-fueled violence, and is helping to erode the once-commanding lead of his leftist National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) in the contest.
More:
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/bloody-mexican-election-campaign-exposes-chronic-security-woes-2021-05-23/
