The mayor of a town in western Mexico was killed on Monday, the local government said, just 24 hours after Claudia Scheinbaum was elected Latin America's top lawmaker. First female president.
The Michoacan state government condemned “the murder of Yolanda Sánchez Figueroa, mayor of Cotija,” the state's interior ministry said in a social media post.
The mayor's murder came after Sheinbaum's landslide victory brought hope for change to a country riven by endemic political corruption. Gender-based violence.
facebook.com/LicYolandaSanchezF
Sanchez, who was elected mayor in the 2021 elections, was shot dead in a public street, according to local media. Her Facebook profile said she was characterized by “preparedness and a desire to make Cotija a good place to live.”
Authorities did not give details about the murder but said a security operation had been launched to arrest the perpetrators.
The politician was kidnapped last September as he left a shopping mall in the city of Guadalajara in the neighboring state of Jalisco.
Three days later, federal officials announced she had been found alive.
Local media reports at the time said the kidnappers belonged to powerful figures. Jalisco Cartel – New Generation The CJNG is accused of threatening the mayor who opposed a takeover of the city's police force by criminal groups.
Michoacan is a popular tourist destination with a thriving agricultural export industry, but it is also one of the country's most violent states, plagued by extortion and the presence of drug trafficking gangs. In March, three farmers were killed in a car bombing raid in the area. Killed by a bomb The bomb was apparently planted on a dirt road in the state of Michoacan, just days after Mexico's outgoing president acknowledged that at least four soldiers were killed by an explosive device he believed to be a “trap” set by a drug cartel.
Bloody elections
At least 23 political candidates have been killed while campaigning, including one for mayor. The murder was captured on camera The death of Alfredo Cabrera last week came after a mayoral candidate in the central Mexican state of Morelos Murdered.
The week before that, 9 people died Two attacks occurred against mayoral candidates in the southern state of Chiapas. Both candidates survived.
Last month, six people Including minors and mayoral candidates Lucero Lopez was killed in an ambush after a campaign rally in the town of La Concordia, which borders Villa Corzo.
One of the mayoral candidates He was shot dead last month She had just started her election campaign.
About 27,000 soldiers and National Guard troops have been deployed to step up security on Election Day.
