MEXICO CITY, May 29 — A mayoral candidate in the central Mexican state of Morelos was murdered yesterday, while another one was wounded by gunfire in western Jalisco state, the governments of both states said.

The attacks took place less than a week before Mexicans head to the polls to elect a new president and 20,000 other public officials, in a campaign marred by the murder of thirty candidates, according to the NGO Data Civica.

In Morelos state, the victim was Ricardo Arizmendi, a candidate for mayor of the city of Cuautla, the state government said in a statement on social media.

In Jalisco state, candidate Gilberto Palomar who was running for mayor of the Encarnacion de Diaz municipality and two of his aides were shot inside a home, the state’s security coordinator Ricardo Sanchez Beruben wrote on X.

According to the Mexican government, since the start of the election campaign in September 2023, 22 candidates have been murdered, a figure lower than Data Cívica’s count.

Over 27,000 troops, including military personnel and National Guard members, will be deployed to guarantee security in Sunday’s general elections, President Lopez Obrador has promised. — AFP