The tension in Michoacán escalated yesterday with a second day of protests in Morelia, where Hundreds of students took to the streets to demand justice for the murder of the mayor of UruapanCarlos Manzo. What began as a peaceful demonstration ended in clashes with the state police, leaving another scene of chaos in an entity mired in violence and social anger.
At noon, student contingents left for the Government Palace. At that point, a group attempted to enter the building, prompting security elements to fire tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters. Until three in the afternoon, skirmishes continued in different parts of the Center without the authorities specifying the number of detainees.
Last night, offices of the Municipal Palace of Apatzingán were vandalized and burned.
The new wave of riots occurs a day after another group of protesters broke into the Government Palace, where they painted, destroyed furniture and threw Molotov cocktails. Several offices were set on fire, while shouts of “Uruapan is not alone!” They echoed amidst the smoke and tear gas. The images of the destruction circulated on social networks, fueling indignation over the crime of the mayor and the fed up with the growing violence in Michoacán, which has seen 63 public officials murdered in five years – nine mayors among them.
The death of Carlos Manzo, which occurred on Saturday during a public event in Uruapan, has become the trigger for a political and security crisis that exhibits the institutional fragility of the state. Despite having 14 National Guard bodyguards, the president was attacked at point-blank range by a young man who, according to state prosecutor Carlos Torres Piña, could be between 17 and 19 years old.
Yesterday at a press conference, the prosecutor showed images of the alleged attacker, who was wearing a white sweatshirt at the time of the attack. In the videos you can see how he mixes with the crowd until he approaches the mayor and shoots him seven times before being shot down by the bodyguards. The weapon used – a 9 millimeter pistol – would have been used in two other homicides that occurred in October in the same region.
Hours later, federal sources They identified the attacker as Osvaldo Gutiérrez Vázquez, alias “El Cuate”, originally from Apatzingán and alleged member of a cell linked to the Nueva Generación Cartel (CNG). His relationship with criminal group operators reinforces the hypothesis of a planned attack in retaliation for the mayor’s actions against organized crime.
Claudia Sheinbaum described the murder as a “vile crime” and announced the reinforcement of security in Michoacán. He also confirmed direct contact with the first mayor’s family and with Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, who has been the target of strong criticism after the tragedy. However, the demonstrations and citizen rejection reflect a feeling of abandonment and distrust towards the authorities. Anger is multiplying on social networks, where many accuse the state government of inefficiency and insensitivity, recalling the video in which Ramírez Bedolla jokes with Manzo weeks before his death and asks him: “How many have you killed?”, from organized crime.
Governor of Michoacán mourns death of mayor
The governor of Michoacán, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, regretted the murder of the mayor of Uruapan, Carlos Manzo, which occurred over the weekend, and thanked President Claudia Sheinbaum and the head of the Ministry of Citizen Security, Omar García Harfuch, for their support in the case.
Ramírez Bedolla affirmed that work is being done to guarantee justice for Manzo, his family and the municipality of Uruapan. For its part, The state prosecutor reported that they have more than 40 expert opinions and that there are two people involved: the material and intellectual author, although they have not yet been fully identified.
It was detailed that the perpetrator of the attack stayed at a hotel in the city center around 4:00 p.m., even shopping before committing the attack. With the support of videos of the event, the trajectory of the aggressor was reconstructed, during which he activated the weapon seven times, information corroborated by the autopsy of the body.
SUN