Deadly election campaign: 37 candidates already murdered before elections in Mexico

On Friday, according to the public prosecutor’s office, candidate Jorge Huerta Cabera was shot dead at an election rally. He was running for a seat on the municipal council of the city of Izucar de Matamoros. According to security consultant Integralia, this brings the total number of candidates killed in Sunday’s election to 37.

In addition, there were 828 attacks that were not fatal – almost 80 of them since the beginning of this week alone. Experts point out that Mexico’s mix of powerful drug cartels and often corrupt local governments increases the danger for political candidates. 560 candidates and election workers were given personal protection during the election campaign because of repeated threats. But that did not always help. Just at the beginning of the week, a candidate for mayor in the southern state of Guerrero was shot at close range during the election campaign despite personal protection.

It is widely expected that Sunday’s election will see Claudia Sheinbaum, the candidate of the left-wing populist coalition Morena, elected president. She is well ahead of opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez in polls. This would be the first time in Mexico’s history that a woman will lead the country. Incumbent Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is not allowed to run again under the constitution. Obrador remains very popular in Mexico. This is largely due to his social policies, which have helped the country’s poor. He has groomed Sheinbaum as a successor.

Around 100 million Mexicans are eligible to vote on Sunday. In addition to the presidency, the election will also focus on the Congress. The governments of nine states and more than 20,000 public offices will also be re-elected.