Mexico’s Election Violence Is Said to Be Worst in Years -- New York Times
MEXICO CITY — Running for public office in Mexico has long been perilous, with threats, assaults and sometimes outright killings by criminal gangs, political rivals and other opponents.
But this season is one of the worst in recent years, some experts say, with at least six candidates killed since February and another wounded in an attack that left her husband and an assistant dead. Party and campaign officials have also been assaulted, their family members targeted and sometimes killed as well.
As nearly half of Mexico’s states prepare to hold local elections on Sunday, the outbreak of violence has proved an embarrassment for the new government of President Enrique Peña Nieto, who has promised to control violence and has sought to portray the country as on the mend from wanton killings.
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My Comment: When President Enrique Peña Nieto was elected his signature issue was to stop Mexico's harsh crackdown on the Mexican drug cartels and it's many gangs .... in effect blaming the authorities and the previous administration for much of the violence. But with the violence escalating and the mayhem caused by these drug gangs continuing .... it is clear that this approach is not exactly working. What's my take .... I was a frequent visitor to Mexico for my vacations in the 1980s and early 1990s .... but when I saw first hand on how violent Mexico was becoming in the mid-1990s (a group of my friends were robbed at gunpoint but what irked them and me is that the police were not interested in pursuing the case) .... that is when I said "adios". The culture of violence will one day end in Mexico through tough laws and enforcement .... specifically through targeting the money that these gangs earn and putting violent offenders behind bars for a very long time .... but until that day happens .... Mexico .... which has some of the finest beaches and climate in the world .... is off my list as a travel destination.
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