The mayor of a city in southern Mexico has been murdered less than a week after taking office, authorities reported on Sunday, marking another tragic incident in a series of attacks on politicians in the violence-ridden country.
Alejandro Arcos, the mayor of Chilpancingo, was described by Guerrero State Governor Evelyn Salgado as a victim of a crime that “fills us with indignation.” She did not provide further details about the circumstances surrounding his death.
Local media outlets have reported that Arcos was decapitated, though this has not been officially confirmed.
Elected in June as part of an opposition coalition that included the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Arcos’s killing was condemned by the PRI as a “cowardly crime,” with calls for justice. “Enough of violence and impunity! The people of Guerrero do not deserve to live in fear,” the party stated on X.
His murder occurred just days after the killing of another city official, Francisco Tapia, according to PRI president Alejandro Moreno. “They had been in office for less than a week. Young and honest officials seeking progress for their community,” Moreno wrote on X.
Guerrero, one of Mexico’s poorest states, has faced years of violence stemming from turf wars between drug cartels. Last year, the state recorded 1,890 murders, including in Acapulco, a resort city that has seen a significant rise in crime.
Since the government deployed the army to combat drug trafficking in 2006, over 450,000 people have been killed, and tens of thousands have gone missing in the ongoing violence. Local politicians are frequently targeted in the context of corruption and the multibillion-dollar drug trade.
Addressing the cartel violence, which has made murder and kidnapping commonplace, is one of the key challenges for Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president. Sworn in on October 1, she has vowed to continue her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s “hugs not bullets” approach, focusing on social policies to address crime at its roots. She is expected to unveil her security plan on Tuesday.
Official figures indicate that at least 24 politicians were murdered during the particularly violent electoral season leading up to the June elections, which were won decisively by a key ruling party figure.
