FREEDOM MAYORS The killing of Mexican mayors By Adriana Maciel, City Mayors Fellow*  ON THIS PAGE: Mayors murdered by gangs and rivals | Number of mayors murdered | Four states account for most mayoral killings | Gangs kill honest mayors | Mayors killed during the presidency of AMLO | Mayors killed during the presidency of Nieto | Mayors killed during the presidency of Calderón | Mayors killed during the presidency of Fox | Research and sources |ON OTHER PAGES: Freedom Mayors | The murdered mayors of the Philippines | Mayor of Tel Aviv | Mayor of Istanbul | Israeli mayors condemn 'reforms' of judiciary | Corrupt American mayors WORLD MAYOR 2023: The 2023 World Mayor Prize is dedicated to Friendship between Cities. The Honours will be awarded to mayors and cities that have made outstanding contributions to friendship, partnership and cooperation between towns and cities at home and across borders. PLEASE NOMINATE YOUR CANDIDATES Mexican mayors murdered by criminal gangs and political rivals January 2023: Since 2005, when Fernando Chávez López, municipal president of Buenavista Tomatlán, Michoacán was shot dead by three hitmen, the killings of mayors, other local government officers and politicians as well as journalist and business people in Mexico have been relentless. According to City Mayors Research, during the course of four presidencies, some 102 mayors, substitute mayors and mayors-elect were killed. In separate research, Nexos Magazine recorded some 200 mayoral killings between 2005 and the end of 2018, a figure that includes former mayors. (In its research, City Mayors only included mayors in office, substitute mayors, and mayors that were elected but killed before taking office (mayors-elect)). Number of mayors murdered shot up between 2006 and 2018 Most of the murders were carried out by organized crime, such as members of drug cartels and gangs, but there have also been instances of killings carried out by political rivals. Due to Mexico’s weak justice system, the crimes are committed with almost impunity, with only very few cases reaching the courts, let alone leading to convictions. Since the inauguration of the current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) in December 2018, 19 mayors have been killed, with three arrests being made and one successful conviction achieved. During the presidency of Enrique Nieto, from December 2012 to December 2018, some 42 mayors or mayors-elect were murdered. There were no convictions or arrests. The 2022/2023 research by City Mayors shows that the killings increased dramatically during the presidencies of Felipe Calderón Hinojosa from 2006 to 2012 (37 killings) and of Enrique Peña Nieto from 2012 to 2018 (42 killings). Only four mayoral murders were recorded during the presidency of Vicente Fox Quezada from 2000 to 2006. It has been accepted for some time that former president Calderon’s ‘war’ against drug trafficking cartels gave rise to ruthless turf conflicts between rival gangs and cartels which also resulted in massive killings and kidnapping of government officials, business people and civilians. In the early years of the current presidency – AMLO took office in December 2018 – there appeared to be a lull in cases of drug-related and political killings, but the numbers started to rise again in 2022. The most recent killing occurred on 30 December 2022, when the mayor of Rafael Delgado (Veracruz) was shot dead by armed men. Some 19 mayoral killings took place between the beginning of 2019 and the end of 2022. Four Mexican states account for 65 per cent of mayoral killings The research by City Mayors (from 2005 to 2022) also shows that four states account for 65 per cent of the killings – Mexico, a country with a population of 127 million people is made up of 32 states. The states with most killings are Oaxaca (population 4.1 million) 22 per cent, Veracruz (Population 8.1 million) 18 per cent, Michoacán (4.7 million) 17 per cent and Guerrero (Population 3.5 million) nine per cent. In Estado de México (Mexico State) with almost 17 million inhabitants there were four killings, equal to four per cent of total killings. The country’s capital, Mexico City, (9.2 million) did not report any mayoral murders. The City Mayors research also found out that almost 94 per cent of the mayors, alternate mayors and mayors-elect were men. Currently, Mexico has 49 female mayors, which account for 5.4 per cent of the total. Gangs said to kill to prevent honest mayors from taking office In 2018, the Baker Institute for Public Policy, part of the Rice University in Texas, published research on mayoral homicides in Mexico. In the report ‘Mayoral Homicides in Mexico: A situational analysis on the victims, perpetrators and locations of attacks’ the authors David Pérez Esparza and Helden De Paz Mancera examined the key factors that explain why local officials - specifically mayors, former mayors, mayors-elect, and mayoral candidates - are being killed in Mexico. The report’s authors speculate about some of the reasons behind the killings. They believe that organized criminal gangs (OCGs) want to deter honest, reputable and competent individuals/politicians from running for office and instead promote candidates who do not pose a threat to their interests. Criminals also want to prevent the elections of public officials with links to rival OCGs. The report also touches on the question why so many former mayors fall victim to criminal killings. During the past 15 years, twice as many out-of-office mayors as serving mayors were murdered. One of the reasons may be revenge but because so few homicide crimes end up in court there is no clear evidence to support any theory. However, it is a reasonable assumption that mayors of smaller towns are in greater danger of falling victim to murderous criminals than their peers in larger cities. Some 53 per cent of mayoral murders occur in communities of less than 20,000 people. “Small municipalities just don’t have the resources and police infrastructure to adequately protect their town hall officials.” Mayors killed during the Presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) (December 2018 to date)
Mayors killed during the Presidency of Enrique Pena Nieto (December 2012 to December 2018)
Mayors killed during the Presidency of Felipe Calderón Hinojosa (December 2006 to December 2012)
Mayors killed during the Presidency of Vicente Fox Quezada (December 2000 to December 2006
* The research was conducted from November 2022 to January 2023. Extensive use was made of national and local newspapers and other media in Mexico. Enquiries to: freedom.mayors@gmail.com © Copyright: All content of the City Mayors and World Mayor websites are protected by worldwide copyright. Please contact the editor if you wish to use any material from the City Mayors, World Mayor, Freedom Mayors or Women Mayors pages. Follow @City_Mayors |
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