Mayoral candidate murdered, another wounded days before Mexico elections

A mayoral candidate in the central Mexican state of Morelos was murdered on Tuesday, while another one was wounded by gunfire in western Jalisco state, the governments of both states said in the latest incident of violence targeting Mexican politicians this year.

The attacks took place less than a week before Mexicans head to the polls to elect a new president and 20,000 other public officials, in a campaign marred by the murder of 30 candidates, according to the nongovernmental organization Data Civica.

In Morelos state, the victim was Ricardo Arizmendi, a candidate for mayor of the city of Cuautla, the state government said in a statement on social media. Officials said Arizmendi had no history of security incidents and had not requested protective measures.

In Jalisco state, candidate Gilberto Palomar, who was running for mayor of the Encarnacion de Diaz municipality, and two of his aides were shot inside a home, the state’s security coordinator Ricardo Sanchez Beruben wrote on social media.

Read more: CBS News