A Mexican mayoral candidate was tragically shot dead alongside three of her supporters including her daughter during a live broadcast of her campaign rally.
Yesenia Lara Gutierrez, representing Mexico‘s ruling Morena party, was gunned down in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz on Sunday night as she greeted residents in the streets of Texistepec.
The horrifying incident was captured on a Facebook livestream, showing people running and screaming as gunshots rang out off camera. Mexican newspaper Reforma reported that the candidate was greeting ‘women with children in their arms’ when the gunfire began.
Footage posted online depicted the chaos, with at least 20 shots head in the clip that was still available on Gutierrez’s Facebook page the following day. Other images shared online appeared to show bodies in the street.
Veracruz Governor Rocio Nahle, also of the Morena party of President Claudia Sheinbaum, said Monday that Gutierrez’s daughter was among those killed by gunmen.
‘No office or position is worth a person’s life,’ Nahle said in a press conference Monday, where she promised justice.
Gutierrez had posted several images on Facebook, showing her campaigning throughout the region. ‘The strength of our youth is the vitality that motivates me to keep walking day by day,’ she wrote just hours before the shooting.
This marks the second killing of a mayoral candidate in Veracruz during the current election cycle, following the April 29 murder of German Anuar Valencia, also from Morena.
Yesenia Lara Gutierrez, representing Mexico ‘s ruling Morena party, was gunned down in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz on Sunday night
A Facebook livestream captured her greeting supporters in the streets of Texistepec before the tragic incident
Veracruz Governor Rocio Nahle, also of the Morena party of President Claudia Sheinbaum, said Monday that Gutierrez’s daughter was among those killed by gunmen
Nahle condemned the violence, labeling it an act of terrorism, and vowed to ensure security and democracy during the upcoming June 1 elections.
She emphasised that 57 candidates had requested state and federal protection, although it is unclear if Gutierrez had done so.
At a wake Monday in Texistepec, family and friends mourned Gutierrez and spoke about the fear the violence stirred around the election.
‘We can’t continue with the insecurity, we’re tired of all of this, this is terrorism,’ said supporter Joaquín Fonseca.
‘There are five people dead, not one. We’re living the worst of the terrorism.’
President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the attack on Gutierrez during her morning press conference on Monday, stating that her government is coordinating with Veracruz state officials and offering federal support if necessary.
‘We’re coordinating, particularly with the Secretary of Security, and with all the support needed during this electoral period from Veracruz and Durango,’ she said, referring to the upcoming June 1 elections in the two states.
The state’s attorney general’s office has launched an investigation into the incident, promising that justice will be served.
Later on Sunday, two federal agents and another person were reportedly killed in an attack in the coastal city of Boca del Rio, further highlighting the deteriorating security situation in the region.
The violent attack underscores the dangerous climate surrounding political campaigns in Mexico, where criminal groups often target local candidates to exert influence over municipal governments.
Mexican newspaper Reforma reported that the candidate was greeting ‘women with children in their arms’ when the gunfire began
Gutierrez had posted several images on Facebook, showing her campaigning throughout the region
At a wake Monday in Texistepec, family and friends mourned Gutierrez and spoke about the fear the violence stirred around the election
Authorities are working to secure the election process amid increasing violence.
The Sunday attacks came just two days after Cecilia Ruvalcaba, a councilmember in Mexico’s western state of Jalisco, was gunned down in a hospital.
Last month, Jose Luis Pereira, a senior member of the Teocaltiche city government, was shot and killed while dining at a restaurant in Jalisco.
In December, a Mexican congressman who was a member of the ruling coalition was shot dead in Veracruz.
Two months prior, a mayor was murdered and decapitated in the southern state of Guerrero.
The following month, a former prosecutor and local police official was arrested in connection with the grisly killing.
In June last year, another mayor was killed in southern Mexico, less than a week after another politician was assassinated in the same region.
That same month, a local councilwoman was gunned down as she was leaving her home in Guerrero.
Her murder came a few days after the mayor of a town in western Mexico and her bodyguard were killed outside of a gym, just hours after Sheinbaum’s presidential win.
And in March 2024, a mayor was shot dead while at a restaurant with his 14-year-old son in Morelia, the capital of western Michoacan state. His son survived.
