The recent death of Carlos Manzo, mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, has highlighted the crisis of violence plaguing Mexico. The murder, which occurred during a public event on the Day of the Dead, not only adds another victim to the list of slain municipal officials, but also reveals the increasing recruitment of minors by organized crime, a phenomenon that has become systematic and affects entire communities, according to activist Saskia Niño de Rivera.
Manzo’s execution, images of which circulated on social media, is part of a trend that has seen at least ten mayors murdered during the six-year term of President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Rivera also mentions that in Michoacán alone, fifteen mayors have lost their lives since 2021, as being a municipal authority in Mexico often involves facing a deadly risk.
Mayors, as the visible representatives of the state in their territories, become direct targets for those seeking to control public space. In regions dominated by violence, the choice is clear: negotiate with organized crime or die confronting it. This reality, far from being exceptional, has become so normalized that each assassination of a public official becomes a trending topic for a few days and then fades into oblivion, despite being a clear example of institutional inefficiency.
