Sicarios Kill Mayoral Candidate in Oaxaca; Her Husband Was Killed Six Years Ago

"MX" for Borderland Beat

Her murder has sent shockwaves through Mexico's political establishment and women organizations in Oaxaca. 

Ivonne Gallegos Carreño, the mayoral candidate of Ocotlan de Morales, Oaxaca, was killed by gunmen m when she was in the passenger seat of her vehicle. The driver of the vehicle, who has not been identified, survived but was gravely wounded.

Gallegos was part of the local political coalition made up of the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).

Prior to her campaign, she served as president of the Gender Equity Commission in her municipality. She was also a former official of the Secretariat of Indigenous Affairs, and was close to Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza, the former head of that indigenous agency.

Investigators confirmed that Gallegos had previously received death threats from an organized crime group and/or political rival.

In 2015, her husband Jose Luis Mendez Lara was murdered. This crime is still unsolved.

WARNING - Graphic Image Below

Background

The June 2021 elections in Mexico will take place in an environment marked by violence. 

Drug cartel collusion in elections is a regional phenomenon. Security experts agree that criminal groups sometimes seek to control local officials and/or influence local elections to expand their agendas. Mayors are usually responsible for appointing local police chiefs and deciding who wins government contracts and concessions at a municipal level.

This year is not the first in which Mexican drug cartels ostensibly intervene in local elections. In 2018, at least 49 candidates were murdered during election season.

Analysts said that 18 pre-candidates have been killed so far in election sesaon. Many of them were killed before they opened formal campaigns.

Sources: La Opinion; Milenio; AP; El Universal