She wanted to improve the security situation in her city – now she is dead. Mexican mayoral candidate Gisela Gaytán is just one of several victims of a bloody election campaign.
In Mexico, deadly attacks on politicians are increasing before the elections on June 2nd: a mayoral candidate has now been shot dead on the street. Three people were also injured in the attack in the central city of Celaya, as the Attorney General’s Office of the state of Guanajuato announced on Tuesday night. More than a dozen political candidates have already been killed ahead of presidential, parliamentary and regional elections in the Latin American country.
Candidate Gisela Gaytán was walking with her team in a suburb of the city when the shots were fired, local media reported. The background initially remained unclear.
Election campaigns in Mexico ended fatally on several occasions
Gaytán ran for mayor of Celaya, a city of 520,000, for the left-leaning Morena party, of which President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is also a member. She had only started her election campaign on Sunday and assured that she wanted to improve the security situation in the city.
Guanajuato is an important industrial location that was considered relatively safe until a few years ago. However, due to the violence of the drug cartels, the state now ranks first in Mexico in terms of murder rates. Criminal groups fighting for influence in certain regions, as well as political opponents who want to eliminate competitors, are often suspected to be behind the attacks on politicians in Mexico.
Source: Stern
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