Latin America Advisor 2024-03-22 – Inter-American Dialogue

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

March 22, 2024

What Is Fueling Violence Against Mexican Politicians?

Tomás Morales, a mayoral hopeful in Guerrero state, was among the Mexican candidates who have been killed in recent weeks. // File Photo: Facebook Page of Tomás Morales.

Q

Tomás Morales, a candidate for mayor of the violence-stricken Mexican city of Chilapa, in Guerrero state, was fatally shot outside his home on March 12, prosecutors said the following day. A half-dozen local candidates in Mexico’s upcoming June elections have been assassinated just since the start of this year, and some analysts believe this may be Mexico’s worst year ever in terms of political violence. Alfredo González, a mayoral contender from Atoyac, in Guerrero, and two mayoral candidates from the town of Maravatío were also killed in recent weeks. What factors are driving the rise in violence against local politicians in Mexico? What measures can Mexican authorities implement to deter political violence, and what responsibility does the government have for the current situation? How will assassinations and the threat of violence affect the upcoming election and its results?

A

Vanda Felbab-Brown, senior fellow for foreign policy at the Brookings Institution: “For decades, assassinations and intimidation have been a feature of Mexico’s elections. But the intensity of electoral violence has increased dramatically. Post-election changes in governing structures also mean changes in the corruption networks that criminal groups exploit and hence a reorganization of state-crime relations. Criminal groups thus have strong incentives to shape electoral outcomes. Indeed, Mexican criminal groups are inserting themselves into ever-earlier stages of elections. At the national level, they may simply seek to develop corruption networks among all top contenders. But at lower levels, their intrusiveness into elections has…”

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Merike Blofield
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Devry Boughner Vorwerk
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Joyce Chang
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Nicolas Mariscal
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Thomas F. McLarty III
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Beatrice Rangel
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Ernesto Revilla
Head of Latin American Economics, Citi

Gustavo Roosen
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Andrés Rozental
President, Rozental &
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Shelly Shetty
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