Mexican Mayor Alejandro Arcos was assassinated in Chilpancingo less than a week after taking office

The mayor of a crime-ridden city in Mexico has been assassinated less than a week after taking office, the latest in a series of violent attacks targeting politicians in the country.

The killing of Alejandro Arcos, who took office as mayor of Chilpancingo on October 1, comes just days after the shooting death of city council secretary Francisco Tapia, and has renewed security concerns in a country that recently saw its largest and most violent coup d’état. general elections in history.

Yesterday, Mexico’s newly elected President Claudia Sheinbaum called Arcos’ killing “unfortunate” and said her security cabinet would provide “more details” today about actions being taken to address the country’s security problems.

“We will roll out the overall strategy. We will work in some states with increased presence, intelligence and investigation in collaboration with the governors,” Sheinbaum said during her daily news conference.

Chilpancingo is the capital of Guerrero, a state with a reputation for violent crime and home to the tourist hotspot of Acapulco.

The state’s governor, Evelyn Salgado, condemned the killing and vowed to hold those responsible accountable.

“His loss is mourned by all of Guerrero society and fills us with indignation,” Salgado wrote on X.

However, the violence faced by Mexican politicians extends far beyond Guerrero, as evidenced by the historic June 2 elections that brought Sheinbaum to power.

With 20,000 electoral posts up for grabs, the scale of bloodshed committed by those who tried to influence the vote was unprecedented.

At least 34 political candidates were murdered by criminal organizations during the campaign season.

And the violence didn’t stop there.

Just hours after Sheinbaum’s election, the female mayor of a city in western Mexico was shot dead.

According to a report by Integralia Consultants, criminal organizations in Mexico center politically motivated attacks at the municipal level, as mayors can offer them impunity due to their ties to law enforcement and the local economy.

It says criminal gangs often finance campaigns during election season, intimidating candidates and violently intervening to force politicians to cooperate with them.