With just two weeks left until the presidential and general elections scheduled for the 2nd of next month, a series of shootings targeting politicians and members of the political parties in southern Mexico has been causing shock.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Chiapas State in Mexico announced on the 19th (local time) that six people were killed in a shooting incident in Mapastepec, a small southern city.
The Chiapas State Prosecutor explained on social media, “Five people died at the scene, and one died in the hospital during treatment. The victims were in a car stopped at a highway gas station, and multiple bullet marks were found on the vehicle.”
All the deceased were the party members and election campaigners of the ruling National Regeneration Movement (MORENA).
Local media outlets, El Universal and Reforma, reported that the incident occurred while Nicolas Noriega was on the move after finishing his campaign for mayor. Candidate Noriega was also injured in the incident.
The day before, three people assisting the campaign for the ruling party’s mayoral candidate in Villacorzo, Chiapas, were killed in an attack by unidentified assailants. On the 16th, seven people, including opposition mayoral candidate Lucero Lopez and party members, were killed in an ambush in La Concordia.
In Mexico, crimes against candidates and politicians are frequent before and after elections. Chiapas, a region embroiled in a power struggle between cartels, is considered a hotspot for violence and murders related to elections, along with Guerrero and Michoacán.
El Universal reported that the police believe gangs are related to most of these incidents.