HomeNewsBriefMore than 80 Mexico Mayors Murdered Since 2006
BRIEF

More than 80 Mexico Mayors Murdered Since 2006

MEXICO / 11 AUG 2016 BY MIKE LASUSA EN

More than 80 current and former mayors have reportedly been killed in Mexico over the past ten years, with three of those murders occurring just in the past few weeks -- a pattern of violence that underscores the political aims of the criminal groups involved in a significant number of the assassinations.  

According to a recent report from Mexico's National Mayors Association (Asociación Nacional de Alcaldes - ANAC) highlighted by Milenio and Animal Político, a total of 82 mayors, retired mayors and mayors-elect have been assassinated from 2006 to the present. Of those victims, 43 were serving in office at the time of their killing, 32 had retired and seven had been elected but had not yet taken office.

Three of the killings occurred from July 23 to August 1 of this year, a ten-day timeframe that saw sitting mayors murdered in the towns of San Juan Chamala in Chiapas state, Pungarabato in Guerrero, and Huehuetlán El Grande in Puebla.

The slaying of the mayor of San Juan Chamala was the first of its kind in Chiapas since 2006, according to the ANAC report. But Puebla had previously seen a sitting mayor murdered in 2013, and an ex-mayor killed in 2015. And Guerrero ranked among the deadliest states for current and former mayors, with eight murdered from 2006 to the present.

Oaxaca topped the list of states with the most mayors killed since 2006 with 15, followed by Michoacán with ten killings and Veracruz with nine. (See Animal Politico's map below)

16-08-11-Mexico-MayorMap

According to the ANAC report, the majority of the slain politicians -- 68 out of 82, or about 83 percent -- belonged to Mexico's three major political parties. The Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional - PRI) counted 37 victims, the Party of Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolución Democrática -PRD) counted 19, and the National Action Party (Partido Acción Nacional - PAN) tallied 12.

The statistics, combined with the recent series of killings, spurred ANAC to issue a public call for the federal government to provide greater support to enhance security for municipal officials.

"This is a fundamental theme of governability," ANAC President Enrique Vargas del Villar told Animal Político. "The fact that a mayor cannot perform his duties represents a risk to the state. This is seen abroad and casts a very negative image, which is why it is something that should be corrected immediately."

An analysis published in January by El Universal identified more than 120 mayors and ex-mayors who had been murdered from 2005 to 2016, in addition to 44 relatives of sitting mayors who were killed during that time.

InSight Crime Analysis

The killing of dozens of Mexican mayors in recent years illustrates the importance criminal organizations place on asserting influence over local politics. While this is not a new phenomenon, the ongoing fragmentation of Mexico's organized crime landscape may be causing an uptick in the violence directed at local authorities. As criminal groups grow increasingly reliant on local criminal activities like retail drug distribution, extortion and theft, co-opting or intimidating mayors becomes paramount for these organizations.

SEE ALSO: Mexico News and Profiles

A number of experts have argued that Mexico's ability to solve its long-term security problems rests heavily on improving the ability of local governments to stand up to corruption and coercion engendered by criminal groups. But, as President Enrique Peña Nieto has found out, doing so is no easy task; crime and politics have been deeply intertwined throughout much of Mexico's history.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Tags

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ARGENTINA / 6 JUL 2022

Tusi, a pink synthetic drug powder, is increasing its share of Latin America's drug markets.

MEXICO / 9 JUN 2021

Over 90 percent of active personnel in Mexico’s National Guard remain uncertified two years after the police body’s creation, marking…

CRIMINAL MIGRATION / 1 MAR 2023

US authorities have made several arrests that could strike a big blow to the MS13’s Mexico Program.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…