"Determination to Die Does Not Work"... Candidates Killed One After Another Ahead of Elections in Mexico

Candidate for 1-Day Mayor Shot Dead on Street
Victims Emerge Regardless of Party Affiliation
Assassination Attempt on Candidate to Block Drug Cartel Restrictions

As Mexico prepares for simultaneous presidential, congressional, and local elections in June, a series of killings of candidates by gang members who do not want their activities to be restricted ahead of the elections has occurred. On the 2nd (local time), Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador confirmed at a regular press conference, "Yesterday (the 1st), a mayoral candidate was killed in Celaya, Guanajuato," adding, "It is very heartbreaking to see people who have stepped up to defend democracy face such situations on the streets."

On the 1st, Mexico's Guanajuato Prosecutor's Office social networking service (SNS) and local daily newspapers including La Jornada reported that Hisela Haitan (38), the Celaya mayoral candidate from the ruling party Movimiento Regeneraci?n Nacional (MORENA), was shot and killed by an assailant while preparing for a campaign at the traditional market in the San Miguel Octopan area.
[Photo by EPA·Yonhap News]

On the same day, local daily newspapers including Reforma and La Jornada, as well as the Guanajuato Prosecutor's Office's social networking services (SNS), reported that Hisela Haitan (38), the Celaya mayoral candidate from the ruling party Movimiento Regeneracion Nacional (MORENA), was shot and killed by an assailant while preparing for a campaign at the traditional market in the San Miguel Octopan area. Notably, Haitan had requested personal protection through her party just hours before her death, and the footage of her collapsing on the street was shared on SNS, causing further shock.

Earlier, in February and March, several mayoral candidates in regions such as Puebla, Jalisco, Guerrero, and Michoacan were shot and killed. What is particularly concerning is that victims have emerged regardless of party affiliation, whether ruling or opposition. Assassinations have also targeted incumbent local government heads. On the 30th of last month, Guillermo Torres, the mayor of Churumuco in Michoacan state, was shot and killed in a restaurant.

Local newspapers including Reforma have pointed to 'drug trafficking cartels' as the cause of the repeated tragedies involving politicians. Mexican drug cartels extort money under the pretext of protection fees from businessmen and local government officials, and there have been multiple assassination attempts against politicians such as local government heads who try to prevent this. The Mexican think tank 'Instituto Electoral' reported that from June 16, 2023, until the day before, 52 sitting mayors and candidates have been killed in election-related violence.