A candidate was murdered on Friday in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas. Noe Ramos Ferretis ran for the opposition National Action Party and Institutional Revolutionary Party coalition that governed Mexico until 2000. He ran for re-election as mayor of Ciudad Mante. Tamaulipas prosecutors said Ramos Ferretis was attacked on Friday, but provided no details other than to say they were investigating.
Local media reported that he had been stabbed and published photographs of his bloodied body lying on the sidewalk. Tamaulipas has long been torn by turf wars between drug cartels. Ciudad Mante is located in the southern part of the state, relatively far from border cities such as Reynosa and Matamoros.
Another candidate for mayor of the southern state of Oaxaca was found dead a day after his disappearance. Alberto García ran for mayor of the city of San José Independencia in Oaxaca. Oaxaca state prosecutors said García was found dead, apparently beaten to death, on an island reservoir near the city. Drug gangs have been active in the area in the past. In Oaxaca, the state electoral commission condemned the death of García, who disappeared along with his wife, the current mayor of San José Independencia, earlier this week. The wife was found alive.
The national elections on June 2, according to experts, promise to be the most violent in the country’s history.
