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The ruling National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party on Wednesday requested federal protection for 40 local candidates in the Mexican state of Guanajuato following Monday’s assassination of Bertha Gisela Gaytán, the party’s candidate for mayor of Celaya .
“Our party has requested protection from the federal authorities for 40 of our candidates in Guanajuato through the National Electoral Institute (INE),” said Mario Delgado, national leader of Morena, during a conference of press in Guadalajara with presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum.
Although the federal government has argued that the protection of local candidates is the responsibility of state authorities, Morena blamed the Guanajuato State Electoral Institute (IEEG) and the government of Guanajuato, led by the National Action Party (PAN). ) opposition, not to protect their aspirants, like Gaytán.
The party held local institutions responsible for Monday’s assault, when Gaytán was shot and killed after her first campaign act in the community of San Miguel Octopan, 10 kilometers from the municipal center of Celaya.
“We reiterate our request for an investigation into the role of the Guanajuato authorities, who were negligent in the protection of our comrade Gisela Gaytán,” Delgado said now. Gaytán’s assassination is one of the most high-profile electoral killings to date in Mexico, with Celaya being the third most populous city in Guanajuato, with the state ranking first in homicides nationally.
The federal Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) recognized on Tuesday the assassination of 15 candidates as part of the ongoing electoral process, which officially began last October 1, in addition to having received more than 100 requests from candidates seeking protection against violence.
Mexico will hold the most important elections in its history on June 2, when more than 97 million voters will be called to renew more than 20,000 positions, including the presidency, nine state governments, the 128 senators and the 500 deputies.
