Development: On 20 June the authorities in Mexico’s western state of Michoacán reported that Omar Gómez Lucatero, an independent mayoral candidate running in the 1 July general election, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen.
Significance: Gómez is the 116th candidate killed in Mexico during this electoral process, which is by far the most violent in the country’s history. But Gómez is the first prominent independent candidate to be murdered ahead of the general election. The case further increases the pressure on Mexico’s federal government to provide additional protection for all candidates taking part in the election and fans concerns that the violence has already undermined the electoral process, that can now hardly be seen as fair and free.
- Gómez was a former deputy mayor of the Michoacán municipality of Aguililla for the federally ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) that was trying to win election as an independent for the first time. As such, he was thought to be a contender for the mayoral seat.
- According to official reports, Gómez was attacked by unidentified gunmen as he drove his car in downtown Aguililla. He was shot at point blank range, leading the authorities to believe that his murder was the work of hired assassins and likely linked to organised criminal activity. Aguililla is located in Michoacán’s Tierra Caliente region, which has been overrun by local drug trafficking and criminal organisations in recent years. Gómez is the fourth candidate to be killed in the area since the start of the electoral process.
- Gómez’s murder was condemned by Michoacán Governor Silvano Aureoles. He deplored the killing of a candidate just days before the election and said that the incident was being investigated by the state authorities to try to determine if it was linked to organised criminal activity and if there were any political motives.
Looking Ahead: The concerns over the seemingly unstoppable violence targeting electoral candidates and the effects that his could have on the electoral process are such that the federal interior minister, Alfonso Navarrete Prida, yesterday was forced to deny that this was undermining the electoral process, and insisted that the federal government was offering all the guarantees to ensure that the electoral process is free, transparent, and fair. But such questions will not go away as the murder of candidates continues.
