Special Issue on the Targeting of Local Officials: Mexico
Report discusses violence targeting local officials in Mexico, its causes, and upcoming electoral challenges.
Violent Local-Level Political Dynamics
On 5 October, armed men stormed the municipal building of San Miguel Totolapan... With those serving in state and municipal bodies representing the vast majority of victims.
Authorities attributed the attack in San Miguel Totolapan to Los Tequileros...
Targeted Violence Beyond Organized Crime Hotspots
ACLED records violence targeting local officials... likely connected to criminal gangs.
In Oaxaca state, ACLED records over 100 events of violence targeting local officials... authoritarian rule of caciques, or local political bosses...
Conversely, in Nuevo Leon... Rather than perpetrating direct violence, criminal groups are reported to make use of intimidations and threats...
How Local Officials Are Threatened
Between 2018 and 2022, ACLED records about 1,000 events of violence targeting local officials... their properties.
Since 2018, violence in the context of riot events... targeting representatives and employees of municipal authorities...
Moreover, the threats faced by political actors are likely under-reported...
Elections Exacerbate Threats to Local Officials
ACLED data indicate that levels of violence targeting local officials typically fluctuate according to electoral cycles... in return for guarantees that law enforcement and rival criminal groups will not interfere in their activities.
Rivalries and disputes between political elites also serve as an important driver of violence targeting local officials... Nonetheless, threats and intimidation can also be indicators of upcoming violence.
Yet, local officials are the target of violent actors beyond the main electoral periods... include political violence in Latin America, non-state actors, and organized crime dynamics.
Prospects Ahead of the 2024 General Elections
In outlining the multitude of threats faced by local public officials... fundamentally driven by organized crime groups has notably driven this interpretation.
The next general elections scheduled for June 2024... adopting reforms to the INE could set fertile grounds for unrest and electoral conflicts around voting outcomes.
Visuals in this report were produced by Ciro Murillo
