A mayoral candidate was shot dead in the street in the Mexican city of Celaya, in the center of the country. Three people were also injured, the attorney general of the state of Guanajuato said.
Candidate Gisela Gaytán was walking with her team in a suburb of the city when shots were fired, local media reported. Gaytán was a candidate for mayor of Celaya, a city of 520,000 inhabitants, for the left-wing Morena party, of which President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is also a member. She had only started her election campaign on Sunday. One of her program points was to improve the security situation in the city.
Guanajuato is an important industrial state that was considered relatively safe until a few years ago. However, due to the violence of the drug cartels, the state now ranks first in Mexico in terms of murder rates. Criminal groups competing for influence in certain regions, as well as political opponents seeking to eliminate competitors, are often held responsible for attacks on politicians.
More than ten political candidates have already been murdered in the run-up to the Mexican presidential, parliamentary and regional elections on June 2.
(ANP/upday)
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