- author, Will Grant
- role, Correspondent Guerrero, Mexico/Central America
The western state of Guerrero is home to the most violent election campaign in Mexico’s history, making it the most dangerous place in the country to cast a vote.
No one understands that better than Cynthia Juarez.
One of the first people killed on the campaign trail was her childhood friend Moises “Moy” Juárez Abarca. Abarca, a nationally known gay rights activist, was a local election candidate for the opposition PRD party before he was kidnapped by armed men.
His body was later found dumped in a mass grave along with 16 others.
“Together with my friend Moi, I have been involved in political activity for more than 20 years. This was the most violent campaign I have ever seen in Guerrero and Acapulco,” he said. Cynthia says as she holds it.
Now that her colleague has been murdered and the investigation into his case has been effectively shelved, Cynthia understands the risks she is taking by running for office in his place. But this petite, determined woman, who is also one of the community’s leading gay rights advocates, says she won’t give in to fear.
“Of course I’m scared. I’m scared that one day I’ll leave and never come back, that it’ll be politically motivated. But politics is the only way we can have a voice, it’s the only way we can return Acapulco to the thriving port it once was.”
As the election approaches, the violence will only worsen. At least 12 people were found murdered in Acapulco on Tuesday, including the bodies of six people found dumped near a market days before the June 2 election. ing.
A recent study by Mexican political consultancy Integraria also sheds light on the grim picture of political violence across the country. Approximately 200 public officials, politicians and candidates have been killed or threatened in the run-up to June elections, with more than 50 victims in Guerrero state alone.
While the violence has affected the entire political spectrum, candidates from the ruling Morena party have been statistically the hardest hit.
Perhaps the most high-profile murder in the state occurred in Acapulco just before Christmas. Ricardo Taja, one of the leading candidates in the Morena mayoral race, was shot and killed while eating dinner at a restaurant with his bodyguard.
Political violence by drug cartels is not new in Mexico.
But the extent of the campaign’s problems shocked even veteran politicians here. Had Taja secured his candidacy, he was expected to have done well in the election.
Having names removed from ballots by bullets means some voters are forced to choose candidates who best serve the interests of organized crime over the needs of their communities.
Cynthia Juarez accompanied the BBC’s interview to local businesses with Evodio Velasquez. Velazquez, a former mayor of Acapulco, says he has endured threats throughout his political career.
While he was running for Congress in this election, armed men showed up at his home and demanded to meet with him in a brazen act of intimidation.
He has since given up racing.
“I’d rather be safe than sorry,” he says. “I don’t want to be part of the murder statistics again.”
The former mayor said he contacted federal authorities to be assigned a security detail, but “it fell on deaf ears. They have taken no action.”
Velazquez said this bloodiest campaign had sown “anxiety and fear in society” and blamed it on “failures of public policy in the field of prevention and safety.”
However, ruling party candidates are expected to sweep committees at the local and state levels in Guerrero.
In fact, voters in the state are likely to re-elect one of the most controversial figures in Mexican politics, Senator Félix Salgado Macedonio.
The senator was forced to withdraw from the 2021 gubernatorial race amid allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he denied and the cases against him were eventually dropped.
Throughout the scandal, he relied on the unwavering support of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
According to official polls, about 60% of Mexicans think their cities are unsafe. Senator Salgado Macedonio claims this is an improvement over the previous year. He also denies that the president’s security strategy (often summarized by the phrase “abrasos, no balazos,” meaning “hugs, not bullets”) has failed.
“That quote needs to be taken in context,” he argues. “The president was saying that in Mexico he wants to see hugs, not bullets. He’s saying that we need to address the root causes of violence, like poverty and family breakdown.”
But he acknowledged that big challenges lie ahead for whoever wins, both in Guerrero and nationwide on June 2. His party’s candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, is the front-runner to become Mexico’s first female president.
“We must move forward little by little until peace is achieved throughout the country,” said Sen. Salgado. “But there’s another problem. We’re our neighbors to the north. To buy or sell drugs, you first need supply and demand. So who will consume the drugs?”
The people of Acapulco have endured a very tough year.
Eight months ago, Hurricane Otis struck the coastal city with devastating force, and the damage from the Category 5 storm is still evident, from destroyed waterfront apartment complexes to low-income neighborhoods.
Lives and livelihoods were lost.
Mercedes Sanchez lost more than any other player. She tearfully described how her mother and younger brother were buried in a landslide just a few streets from her modest home in the Francisco Villa neighborhood. .
Mercedes says she is grateful for the government’s response to the disaster. This includes food parcels, direct financial support of around $3,000 (about £2,360) per household, and even replacement household appliances.
But while Acapulco is starting to recover after the storm, the security situation remains dire, and not a day goes by without a murder in the city.
Just a few blocks away, the latest victim was a taxi driver shot while waiting for a customer, with yellow police tape still at the scene and blood stains on the road.
As voting day approaches, Mercedes says the constant crime will influence her final decision. Daily life in her community is fraught with danger.
“We can’t even go outside without being afraid. Even if you don’t want any trouble, you could be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s always dangerous.”
