Justice in Mexico

Local officials from Tamaulipas move to U.S. due to recent violence against mayors

10/01/10 – The general secretary of the government, Hugo Andrés Araujo de la Torre, recognized that for security reasons several Tamaulipas mayors have moved to the Unites States. However, he noted that that during the day those who have moved to the U.S. work in their corresponding municipal presidencies; that “they are fulfilling their tasks in their municipality…and they decide where to sleep.”  The secretary also denied that there was a state of “ungovernability” in Tamaulipas. He said that they were “… looking for those mayors [to be able to] count on conditions of security so that they can continue realizing their function correctly and we are insisting that the task is fulfilled.”

According to a compilation of data on the Terra website, 18 municipal presidents have been assassinated in the course of the current administration: 3 in Chihuahua, Michoacán and Durango, respectively; 2 in Guerrero, Nuevo León and Oaxaca; and 1 in the Estado de México, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas. The political party that has suffered the most executions is the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional –PRI). Twelve of the 18 mayors assassinated were PRI members; 3 where members of the National Action Party (Partido Acción Nacional – PAN), one was a member of the Democratic Revolution Party (Partido de la Revolución Democrática –PRD). Eleven of the eighteen mayors were assassinated between February 17th and September 27th of this year. Of these, five have been killed within the past month and a half:

Mayors assassinated between February 17th and September 27th of this year:

Gustavo Sánchez of Tancítaro, Michoacán (09/25)
Prisciliano Rodríguez of Doctor González, Nuevo León (09/23)
Alexander López of El Naranjo, San Luis Potosí (09/08)
Marco Antonio Leal of Hidalgo, Tamaulipas (08/29)
Edelmiro Cavazos of Santiago, Nuevo León (Between 08/15 and 08/18)

Nicolás García Ambrosio, of Santo Domingo de Morelos, Oaxaca (06/30)
Óscar Venancio Rivera, of San José del Progreso, Oaxaca (06/20)
Jesús Manuel Lara Rodríguez, of Guadalupe, Chihuahua (06/19)
José Santiago Agustín, of Zapotitlán Tablas, Guerrero (04/28)
Manuel Estrada, of El Mezquital, Hidalgo (02/22)
Ramón Mendívil Sotelo, of Guadalupe y Calvo, Chihuahua (02/17)

Sources:
Zuckermann, Leo. “Matazón de alcaldes.” Excelsior. 29 Septiembre, 2010.
Notimex en Ciudad Victoria. “Se mudan alcaldes de Tamaulipas a EU por inseguridad.” La Cronica de Hoy. 27 Septiembre, 2010.
Alvarez, Lupita. “Alcaldes fronterizos huyen a Estados Unidos.” EnLíneaDirecta. 27 Septiembre, 2010.
Notimex. “ ‘Barbaridad’, el asesinato de alcaldes en México: EUA.” Milenio.  24 Septiembre, 2010.

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