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Agence France-Presse

A gunman shot dead an aspiring mayor at a rally Wednesday in southern Mexico, marking a bloody end to campaigning in a country expected to elect its first woman president this weekend.
More than 20 people running for local office have been murdered during what has been a particularly violent election season in the Latin American nation, according to an official count.
The latest victim was Alfredo Cabrera, a mayoral candidate for an opposition coalition who was gunned down in the southern state of Guerrero, causing chaos and panic among people attending the rally.
Barring a major upset, a woman appears almost certain to be elected leader of the world’s most populous Spanish-speaking country when millions of Mexicans vote on Sunday.

“We’re going to make history,” ruling-party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum, who is leading in polls, told a cheering crowd at her closing campaign rally in Mexico City’s main square.
“I say to the young women, to all the women of Mexico – colleagues, friends, sisters, daughters, mothers and grandmothers – you are not alone,” the 61-year-old said.
Sheinbaum has pledged to continue outgoing left-wing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s social programmes and strategy of tackling crime at its roots – a controversial strategy that he calls “hugs not bullets”.
Opposition presidential candidate Xochitl Galvez, also 61, promised a tougher approach to dealing with drug cartel-related violence at her closing rally in the northern city of Monterrey.
“You will have the bravest president, a president who does confront crime,” she said.
Galvez accused Lopez Obrador of implementing “a security strategy where hugs have been for criminals and bullets for citizens”.

Criminal violence that has left more than 450,000 people dead since 2006 will be among the major challenges facing Mexico’s next leader, along with managing migration and delicate relations with the neighbouring United States.
Sheinbaum, a former Mexico City mayor and a scientist by training, is the clear front-runner in the presidential race with 53 per cent of voter support, according to a poll average from research firm Oraculus.
Galvez, a centre-right senator and businesswoman with Indigenous roots, is second with 36 per cent.
The only man running – long-shot centrist Jorge Alvarez Maynez – has 11 per cent.
Thousands of Sheinbaum’s supporters massed Wednesday to hear her speak, with many wearing purple – the colour of the ruling Morena party.
Sheinbaum owes much of her popularity to Lopez Obrador, widely known as AMLO – a close ally who has an approval rating of more than 60 per cent but is only allowed to serve one term.
Nearly 100 million people are registered to vote for president, members of Congress, several state governors and local officials, in the biggest-ever elections in the country of 129 million.
Around 27,000 soldiers and National Guard members will be deployed to reinforce security on election day.
Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez said Tuesday that 22 people running for local office had been murdered since September.
Some non-governmental organisations have reported an even higher number, including Data Civica, which has counted around 30 killings of candidates.
The PRI, one of the opposition coalition parties, accused the government of having “not made even the slightest effort to guarantee the safety of the candidates”.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Mexico

Bloodshed mars final day of campaigning for Mexico’s election

Supporters of presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum rally in Mexico City. Photo: AP

Mexico presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum. Photo: AFP

Mexico presidential candidate Xochitl Galvez. Photo: AP

Texas, Mexico City break temperature records as heatwave grips parts of North America

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Tragedy in Mexico as strong winds topple stage at campaign rally, 9 dead and dozens hurt

Part of the structure that collapsed at the campaign event. Photo: Reuters

Members of the Mexican army guard the area. Photo: AFP

Presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez. Photo: Reuters

Tens of thousands protest against Mexico’s president in capital city’s main square

A balloon depicting Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at a protest in Mexico City’s Zocalo Square on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Opposition presidential candidate Xochitl Galvez attends a rally at Zocalo Square in Mexico City on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Photo: AP

News

World

Americas

Mayoral candidate assassinated as Mexico’s presidential hopefuls wrap up their campaigns
Ruling-party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum on course to become Mexico’s first woman president


A gunman shot dead an aspiring mayor at a rally in southern Mexico, marking a bloody end to campaigning in a country expected to elect its first woman president this weekend


Americas and the Caribbean

Bloodshed mars final day of campaigning for Mexico’s election

Mayoral candidate assassinated as Mexico’s presidential hopefuls wrap up their campaigns Ruling-party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum on course to become Mexico’s first woman president

Mayoral candidate assassinated as Mexico’s presidential hopefuls wrap up their campaigns

Ruling-party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum on course to become Mexico’s first woman president