Mexican mayor killed just hours after election of first female president

CNN
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The mayor of a city in western Mexico was shot dead on Monday, authorities said. Just hours earlier, the country had elected its first female president in an election campaign that was overshadowed by deadly attacks on candidates.

Yolanda Sánchez Figueroa, mayor of Cotija in Michoacán state, was on her way back to her house from a gym with her bodyguard when they were shot by men in a white van, the state’s attorney general said in a statement.

Both Sánchez Figueroa and her bodyguard later died in hospital, it was further reported. An investigation has been launched.

Confirmation of Sánchez Figueroa’s death came hours after Claudia Sheinbaum became Mexico’s first female president in a landslide victory – an achievement in a country known for its patriarchal culture and widespread femicide.

In the election, the bloodiest in Mexican history, violence against politicians was a widespread theme. Dozens of political candidates and aspirants were killed during the campaign by criminal organizations trying to influence the election.

Sheinbaum will take office on Oct. 1, replacing outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, her longtime ally whose social programs lifted many Mexicans out of poverty and made her left-wing Morena party the favorite in the polls.

But it inherits an epidemic of gang violence and unexplained disappearances in the country and faces the urgent task of strengthening internal and border security.

Mexico’s murder rate is among the highest in the world and the country remains a dangerous place for women. According to figures, around 10 women are murdered every day. More than 100,000 people remain missing in the country without their fate being clarified. According to the think tank Mexico Evalua, around 95% of all crimes in the country remained unsolved in 2022.

Sánchez Figueroa was kidnapped in the city of Zapopan in September 2023 and was released three days later. Three men were arrested and charged with her kidnapping.

Local authorities, including the government of Michoacán, condemned the fatal attack on the mayor and her bodyguard.

“A security operation coordinated with federal authorities has been launched to find those responsible for the incident,” the state’s Ministry of Public Security said.