Mexico's pre-election violence claims fourth politician

Gunmen shot Mexican congressional candidate Miguel Angel Luna Munguia, a member of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), in his campaign office on Tuesday. He later died at the hospital, making him the fourth politician killed in pre-election violence.

The violence in the run-up to Mexico’s June 7 midterm elections has resulted in 21 deaths, according to Univision. It is concentrated in regions with high organized crime, like the poorer southern states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guerrero, according to Telesur.

On Monday, teachers protesting education reform vandalized election offices and burned ballots in Oaxaca. On Monday night, protesters invaded election offices in Guerrero and burned more than 116,000 ballots. Authorities promised to replace destroyed ballots. On Tuesday and Wednesday, unionized teachers attacked offices in Chiapas.

Mexico has more than 80 million registered voters who will elect 500 lower house of Congress members, 300 mayors, 17 state legislatures, and nine governors on Sunday. Three major parties will vie for power: the conservative PAN (National Action Party), centrist PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party), and liberal PRD (Democratic Revolution Party). Corruption scandals have permeated all three.

PRI dominated the government for 70 years, until losing the 2000 presidential election to PAN, which has the strongest ties to the Roman Catholic Church. The “new PRI” took back power in 2012. Election polls predict the current PRI party likely will maintain its majority position in Congress, even though many people complain about PRI policies and the slow economy. Mexicans also suspect the government of corruption and repression of free speech, especially with journalists.

InsightCrime notes that “pre-election violence is not a new phenomenon in Mexico, and political candidates have been known to withdraw their candidacies out of fear of violence and assassination.” The recent violence is a result of organized crime groups allied with local authorities trying to control electoral outcomes. Telesur notes this election is the first political test for President Enrique Peña Nieto.

Protesters pledging to boycott the elections include teachers angry over education reforms and the families of the 43 university students who disappeared last year. Franc Contreras of CCTV America says violent protests could disrupt voting, but “local and state government will have thousands of riot police out in force on Sunday.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.