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a mass grave that was found in Iguala, Guerrero state, Mexico
Friday, June 29, 2018 –
10:34am
Murder rates in Mexico are at a record high following a
spate of politically motivated kilings as the country prepares to
go to the polls.
On average, someone was killed in Mexico every 15 minutes
during May, according to Time magazine. If the bloodshed
continues at this rate, the Latin American country will surpass
the 29,168 killings reported last year,
the highest annual total on record.
Unsurprisingly, the soaring homicide rate has been at the
top of the political agenda ahead of Sunday’s election. So what is
driving this spike in violence?
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The infiltration of criminal elements in local politics is a key
factor. In June 2017, twelve mayors from Puebla state were arrested
on suspicion of involvement in a fuel-stealing ring, and there have
been similar cases throughout the country. Last week,
the entire police force in the northern town of Ocampo
was detained on suspicion of having
orchestrated the murder of a mayoral candidate.
This merging of the political and criminal worlds has seen the
number of attacks on politicians soar by more than 2,400% between
2012 and 2018, says Ruben Salazar, director of Mexico City-based
risk analysis firm Etellekt.
“What we are seeing at the moment is a deliberate
employment of violence as a political tool, as not only organised
crime groups but also local political groups try to perpetuate
themselves in power, controlling government structures, as well as
lands and both legal and illegal activities, through violence,”
Salazar explains.
Since campaigning began in September, 132 politicians,
party officials and political candidates have been
murdered, CNN reports.
Whoever wins this weekend’s vote, the new president is not
due to take office until 1 December, so there are few hopes of the
violence abating any time soon.
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