Visits
Governor of Michoacán is expelled amid insults by relatives of the murdered councilor; cries of “Get out!” and “Damn murderer!”
JUAN R. HERNÁNDEZ
CANTON GROUP
Mexico City.- Michoacan is going through one of the most violent periods in its recent history. So far in 2025, four municipal presidents have been assassinated, a reflection of the fragility of the State in regions dominated by organized crime.
The most recent case occurred on November 1, when Carlos Manzomayor of Uruapan, was executed during the Candle Festival.
Before, on June 5, Salvador Bastidamayor of Tacámbaro, was shot after a public event. On June 2, Martha Laura Mendoza, municipal president of Tepalcatepec, was murdered along with her husband. Guillermo Torres Rojas, mayor of Churumuco, died on March 15 after being attacked in a taqueria.
Since 2020, at least five former mayors have been executed: Yolanda Sánchez (Cotija, 2024), César Arturo Valencia (Aguililla, 2022), Enrique Velázquez (Contepec, 2022), and the former mayors of Maravatío, Dagoberto García and Miguel Ángel Reyes (2024).
Intimidation of local authorities persists. In September 2024, the home of Diana Caballero, mayor of Queréndaro, was burned down. Weeks later, Irma Moreno, mayor of Buenavista, suffered a road attack.
The violence has also affected political leaders from different parties: Aurelio Santos Contreras (PRD, Cotija), Maribel Juárez Blanquet (PRD, Angamacutiro, disappeared), Armando Pérez Luna (PAN, Maravatío) and Miriam Ríos Ríos (MC, Jacona). The cases show that municipalities are the weakest link in the face of criminal power.
At the same time, activists and police chiefs have been targets of attacks. The most emblematic murder was that of Hipólito Mora Chávez, founder of the self-defense groups in La Ruana, executed on June 29, 2023. According to the Supreme Indigenous Council of Michoacán, at least 20 community members and defenders have been murdered since 2020 due to territorial disputes.
Meanwhile, in Michoacán, the state governor, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla He was greeted with shouts of “Go away, Go away!” by relatives and followers of the murdered mayor. “Get out, get out”, “What are you doing, son of a bitch, asshole?”, “Damn murderer!” The president had to leave the place shortly after, in the midst of the agitation.
The climate of fear is reflected in the figures. The National Survey of Urban Public Safety (ENSU) of the INEGI indicates that 82.6% of the inhabitants of Uruapan and 76% of those of Morelia consider it unsafe to live in their cities. At the state level, there have been 533 intentional homicides so far this year, an average of 88 murders per month.
Finally, the Semiannual Report on Political Violence (January-June 2025) documents 253 events in the country: 112 murders, 74 threats, 33 attacks, 17 kidnappings and 11 disappearances.
UNSAFE
The National Survey of Urban Public Safety (ENSU) of the INEGI indicates that 82.6% of the inhabitants of Uruapan and 76% of those of Morelia consider it unsafe to live in their cities.
IN THE COUNTRY
The Semiannual Report on Political Violence (January-June 2025) documents 253 events in the country: 112 murders, 74 threats, 33 attacks, 17 kidnappings and 11 disappearances