This was the bloodiest year in the history of modern Mexican politics, forty-one candidates and aspirants for public office were murdered. Cartels took a politician and his wife and cut them up

This is the most violent year for politics in recent Mexican history, with 41 candidates and aspirants for public office assassinated. It shows how unstable Mexico is and also reflects the growing trend of political violence in the Western Hemisphere, as seen in the two assassination attempts on Donald Trump. In one case, a Mexican politician and his wife were dismembered. As we read in the New York Times:

In Mexico, where this year’s elections were the most violent in the country’s recent history, with 41 candidates and aspirants to public office killed, President Andrés López Obrador said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “While what happened is still unclear, we deplore the violence against former President Donald Trump. The path is democracy and peace.”

In another article, also published by the NYT, we read:

However, analysts and law enforcement officials say the cartels that have strengthened are spreading fear during local elections by expanding their reach into extortion, human trafficking and food production.

The sense of terror is compounded by the fact that not only candidates but also their relatives are increasingly being targeted, with at least 14 such relatives murdered in recent months. Some cases have been particularly gruesome; in the state of Guerrero this month, the dismembered bodies of a candidate for city council and his wife were found.

Armed groups also turn some murders into mass shootings. In the state of Chiapas this month, gunmen killed a mayoral candidate and seven other people, including the candidate’s sister and a young girl.

To maximize their profits, multi-headed criminal groups need compliant elected officials. Threats and bribes can make a small-town mayor or city council member turn a blind eye to illegal activity. But as the bloodshed in cities across Mexico makes painfully clear, analysts say, candidates who dare to stray from such cooperation risk being assassinated.

As a result, dozens of them have dropped out of the race. Some political parties have pulled out of certain cities after they couldn’t find people to run. Instead of reaching out to voters in public, some local campaigns have gone largely online.

…

The attacks have intensified in states where gangs have split into multiple criminal groups, all fiercely competing for power. Another reason for so much carnage is the sheer scale of this election. With more than 20,000 local posts captured, it is the largest ever in Mexico.

Sandra Ley, a security analyst at the public policy group Mexico Evaluates, said the killings show that organized crime groups are being protected by corrupt or intimidated local officials.