Criminal Groups Seek to Decide Outcome in Many Mexican Races
CHILPANCINGO, Mexico — His election campaign for state Congress was only hours old when he started to receive the threats.
Sometimes they came by text, other times in phone calls, with an unidentified voice on the other end of the line.
The messages were always the same: Abandon the race or you will die.
Abel Montúfar was defiant, his brother said, telling his tormentors, “I am not afraid of you.” But on May 8, nine days into the campaign in Mexico’s Pacific Coast state of Guerrero, his body was found slumped in his parked van. He had been shot six times.
While Mr. Montúfar’s killing remains unsolved, his relatives say they have no doubt who was responsible: criminals supporting a rival candidate.
Mexicans vote Sunday for a new president and to fill more than 3,400 local, state and federal posts, making it the nation’s largest general election ever. It is also perhaps the most violent electoral season in modern Mexican history.
Mr. Montúfar was among at least 136 politicians and political operatives who have been assassinated in Mexico since last fall, according to Etellekt, a risk analysis firm in Mexico. More than a third were candidates or potential candidates — most of them running for local offices. Others included elected officials, political party members and campaign workers.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/criminal-groups-seek-to-decide-outcome-in-many-mexican-races/ar-AAzpEa0?ocid=spartandhp
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