Guanajuato mayoral candidate Bertha Gaytán of the Morena Party, which President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador belongs to, was shot to death on a street in a town outside the city of Celaya, just as she was starting her campaign for mayor. This is the latest in a string of election violence happening all over Mexico.

Video of the attack against her surfaced and is currently being shared on social media in Mexico. In that video, a small procession of people shouting "Morena!" can be seen. However, this was interrupted as gunshots were heard, followed by people trying to run away, some of them tripping as they tried to escape the gunfire.

Since 2024 began, 14 candidates have already been killed as election violence continues to plague Mexico. Experts predict that this would be the bloodiest election in the country's history, as more candidates and their followers are likely to be killed as the June 2 elections approach, according to the Associated Press.

The likely candidates that often get attacked during the election are those running for local offices at the city or municipal level, most notably those running to be mayor. While national candidates like presidents get government security details, local candidates are on their own, even the ones running under the ruling party.

The killing of the mayoral candidate also happened in Guanajuato, considered one of the bloodiest states in all of Mexico, as it has one of the highest homicide rates in the country. While it is still being investigated who attacked Gaytan, the state is home to several deadly groups like the Jalisco drug cartel and the homegrown Santa Rosa de Lima gang.

Celaya city council candidate Adrián Guerrero, an ally of Gaytan in the upcoming election, was also reportedly killed in that same attack. However, Federal Security Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez only stated that he was missing. His fate is still unclear.

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Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Reacts to Death of Morena Party Mayoral Candidate

Following the news of Gaytan's death, Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stated that it "hurts a lot." However, the Associated Press noted that he did not offer any changes to address the rising election violence happening all over the country.

"These events are very regrettable because these are people who are fighting to defend democracy, they're out on the street, face to face," the president told journalists in his daily news briefing. However, he acknowledged that drug cartels often seek to determine who will serve as mayor by either running their own candidate or killing those who would clearly oppose them.

Election Violence has Become a Theme in the Mexico Elections

Just before the attack on Gaytan, Chumocho municipality Mayor Guillermo Torres, a mayor in the neighboring state of Michoacan, was shot to death while dining at a restaurant, according to Barrons. Before that, mayoral candidates from the states of Puebla, Jalisco, and Guerrero were also killed in separate attacks.

The wave of organized crime impacting politics in Mexico has raised many concerns as the people now look to the big-ticket candidates in the presidential election to answer this escalating violence.

READ MORE: Mexico Elections Primer: Who Are the Top 3 Candidates Vying to Replace AMLO?

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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