- author, Will Grant
- role, Correspondent Guerrero, Mexico/Central America
The western state of Guerrero has become the most dangerous place in the country to vote, amid the most violent election campaign in Mexico’s history.
Few people understand that better than Cynthia Juarez.
One of the first people killed on the campaign trail was her childhood friend, Moisés “Moi” Juárez Abarca, a nationally known gay rights activist who had been a local government candidate for the opposition PRD party before being abducted by gunmen.
His body was later found dumped in a mass grave along with 16 others.
“Together with my friend Moi, I have been involved in political activity for more than 20 years. This was the most violent campaign I have ever seen in Guerrero and Acapulco,” he said. Cynthia says as she holds it.
With her colleague murdered and the investigation into the case effectively shelved, Cynthia knows all too well the risks she is taking by running in his place. But this petite, determined woman and leading gay rights advocate in her community says she will not give in to fear.
“Of course I’m scared. I’m scared that one day I’ll leave and never come back, that it’ll be politically motivated. But politics is the only way we can have a voice, it’s the only way we can return Acapulco to the thriving port it once was.”
The violence has only worsened as the election draws closer: At least 12 people were found murdered in Acapulco on Tuesday, including six bodies found dumped near a market just days before the June 2 election.
A recent study by Mexican political consultancy Integria paints a grim picture of political violence across the country, with around 200 civil servants, politicians and candidates killed or threatened ahead of June’s elections, including more than 50 in Guerrero state alone.
The violence has affected all sides of the political spectrum, but statistically candidates from the ruling Morena party have been hit hardest.
Perhaps the most high-profile murder in the state occurred in Acapulco just before Christmas. Ricardo Taja, one of the leading candidates in the Morena mayoral race, was shot and killed while eating dinner at a restaurant with his bodyguard.
Political violence perpetrated by drug cartels is nothing new in Mexico.
But the extent of the campaign’s problems shocked even veteran politicians here. Had Taja secured his candidacy, he was expected to have done well in the election.
Having names removed from the ballot by bullets means some voters will be forced to choose the candidate who will best serve the interests of organized crime over the needs of their community.
Cynthia Juarez accompanied the BBC’s interview to local businesses with Evodio Velasquez. Velazquez, a former mayor of Acapulco, says he has endured threats throughout his political career.
While he was running for Congress in this election, armed men showed up at his home and demanded to meet with him in a brazen act of intimidation.
He subsequently withdrew from the race.
“I’d rather be safe than sorry,” he says. “I don’t want to be part of the murder statistics again.”
The former mayor said he contacted federal authorities to send security guards, but “they ignored us. No action was taken.”
Velazquez said this bloodiest campaign had sown “anxiety and fear in society” and blamed it on “failures of public policy in the field of prevention and safety.”
However, in Guerrero, the ruling party’s candidates are expected to win overwhelming victories at the local and state levels.
In fact, voters in the state are likely to re-elect one of the most controversial figures in Mexican politics, Senator Félix Salgado Macedonio.
The senator was forced to withdraw from the 2021 gubernatorial race due to rape and sexual assault allegations. He denied his charges and the case against him was eventually dropped.
Throughout the scandal, he relied on the unwavering support of President Andres Manuel López Obrador.
According to official polls, about 60% of Mexicans think their cities are unsafe. Senator Salgado Macedonio claims this is an improvement over the previous year. He also denies that the president’s security strategy (often summarized by the phrase “abrasos, no balazos,” meaning “hugs, not bullets”) has failed.
“This statement must be taken in context,” he argues. “The president is saying that in Mexico he wants to see hugs, not bullets. He is saying that the root causes of violence, like poverty and the breakdown of families, need to be addressed.”
But he acknowledged that big challenges lie ahead in Guerrero state and across the country no matter who wins on June 2. His party’s candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, is the front-runner to become Mexico’s first female president.
“We have to move forward bit by bit until we achieve peace throughout the country,” Senator Salgado said. “But there is another problem: our neighbor to the north. To buy and sell drugs, you first need demand and supply. But who is going to consume them?”
The people of Acapulco have endured a very tough year.
Eight months ago, Hurricane Otis struck the coastal city with devastating force, and the damage from the Category 5 storm is still evident, from destroyed waterfront apartment complexes to low-income neighborhoods.
Lives and livelihoods were lost.
Mercedes Sanchez has lost more than most people. She cries as she describes how her mother and younger brother were buried in a landslide just a few blocks from her modest home in the Francisco Villa neighborhood.
Mercedes says she is grateful for the government’s response to the disaster. The government’s response includes food packs, direct financial support of around $3,000 (£2,360) per household and even replacement of household appliances.
But while Acapulco is starting to get back on its feet after the storm, the security situation remains dire, and not a day goes by without a murder in the city.
Just a few blocks away, the latest victim was a taxi driver shot while waiting for a customer, with yellow police tape still at the scene and blood stains on the road.
As Election Day approaches, Mercedes said the high crime rate will likely influence her final decision, with everyday life in her community fraught with danger.
“We can’t even go outside without being afraid. Even if you don’t want any trouble, you could be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s always dangerous.”
