The candidate for the municipal presidency of Benemerito de las Americas, Juan Gomez Morales, was attacked on Friday night, May 3rd, along with his team. 18 people were injured and two people died, Jonathan, the 15-year-old son of Juan Gomez Morales, and the fifth councilor Mauro Hernandez.
The state leader of Chiapas Unidos, Conrado Cifuentes, reported that he was able to speak with Juan Gomez Morales, also known as Juan “Changarro”, on the night of the events to find out what happened. The team was returning from an event in the community of Nueva Veracruz, on the border with Guatemala, when they were attacked by unknown armed men.
The leader of Chiapas Unidos said that the candidates for the mayoralty of El Porvenir, Ariel Vazquez Diaz, and Venustiano Carranza, Karen del Rocio Carbajal Gordillo, have received death threats “and they have been asked to withdraw from the electoral process, so they have suspended acts of canvassing,” El Universal reported.
The Chiapas Unidos party asked the authorities through social networks to “do what corresponds to them and allow us to carry out an electoral process in which guarantees are granted to the candidates of all political parties to be able to participate and a peaceful election day is achieved.” He added: “We very much regret and strongly condemn the events that occurred today in the municipality of Benemerito de las Americas, where our candidate Juan Gomez Morales suffered an attack.”
In the municipality of Benemerito de las Americas, violence has continued to increase in recent years due to clashes between criminal organizations. Furthermore, electoral violence continues to grow at the federal and state levels. “It is worth mentioning that this election year, violence has ended the lives of more than 35 candidates, being one of the most violent electoral processes in history,” Infobae reported.
For more information in Spanish:
Atacan a Juan Gómez Morales, candidato a alcaldía a Benemérito de las Américas, Chiapas; hay dos muertos y varios heridos (Infobae, 4 de mayo de 2024)
Atacan a candidato a alcaldía de Benemérito de las Américas, Chiapas (El Universal, 4 de mayo de 2024)
Matan a dos en atentado contra aspirante a edil de Benemérito de las Américas, Chiapas (La Jornada, 4 de mayo de 2024)
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