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LatinNews Regional Monitor: Mexico - 15 May 2018

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Electoral violence shakes Mexico’s democracy

Development: On 14 May, Mexico’s national human rights commission (CNDH) called on the Mexican authorities to guarantee the safety of all candidates running in the general election.

Significance: Given the high levels of electoral violence, running for political office in Mexico is not for the faint-hearted. In the run-up to the 1 July general election, almost 100 candidates have been murdered, ostensibly for political reasons. Hundreds of others have withdrawn their candidacies because of the violence. “Nothing affects democratic processes more than an environment of violence, polarisation, and intolerance”, the CNDH said in a statement.

  • During this year’s electoral campaign season there have been 94 politically motivated homicides to date, the victims of 80 of which were running in the municipal elections. Another 305 violent attacks against political actors or their families have also been registered according to Mexican risk consultancy Etellekt.
  • In a statement, the CNDH expressed solidarity with the victims and urged the authorities to protect the candidates running in the general election. Additionally, it asked for the crimes committed against political agents and their families to be investigated promptly and for the perpetrators to be punished.
  • Also concerning is the high number of potential candidates who were intimidated by the violence and abandoned their electoral bids altogether. This year, 1,000 of those running in the federal and state elections have withdrawn their candidacies, although it is unclear how many did so because of violence and how many did so for personal reasons.
  • The political violence appears to be worse on a local level. There have been 341 substitutions of candidates in the federal elections according to the national electoral institute (INE), whereas there have been 660 substitutions of candidates running in the state elections. The states with the highest turnover of candidates include: the southern states of Oaxaca with 306, the Estado de México (Edomex) with 225, and the northern state of Chihuahua with 80.

Looking Ahead: This is shaping up to be one of the most violent electoral seasons on record in Mexico. In a statement, Interior Minister Alfonso Navarrete Prida said that the federal government repudiates all violence against political parties, candidates and institutions. He said he had held 60 meetings to discuss security matters with political parties, governors, mayors and electoral authorities. Navarrete reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring the general election is carried out peacefully, but failed to elucidate how it would do so.

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