Four people were shot and killed during a campaign event in Texistepec, Veracruz, Mexico on Sunday, including mayoral candidate Yesenia Lara Gutierrez, who was endorsed by the country’s ruling Morena party.
The attack took place while Lara and her supporters were walking in a campaign procession through the streets of the southern Veracruz town. Local reports say that three others were also killed and three more wounded. A live video from Lara’s Facebook account captured approximately 20 gunshots as the attack unfolded.
Lara, 49, was the widow of Enrique Argüelles, a former local councilor who was murdered in 2022, reports Mexico News Daily. Hours before she was killed, she wrote on Facebook, “the strength of our young people is the vitality that motivates me to keep walking day by day.”
The deaths were confirmed by Governor Rocio Nahle, who issued a public statement calling the murders “cowardly.” “No office or position is worth a person’s life,” she wrote on X. “We’re going to arrest those responsible for this cowardly murder of the candidate and Morena supporters in Texistepec; 4 people dead and 3 wounded.”
The state Attorney General’s Office also confirmed the attack and said the victims were being treated and an investigation had been launched. “The Attorney General’s Office of the State of Veracruz reports the initiation of an investigation folder for events that occurred in the municipality of Texistepec,” the office said in a statement.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday she was not yet aware of a motive behind the killings. Authorities believe at least two individuals carried out the attack. No arrests have been reported.
This is not the first deadly attack involving a Morena candidate this election season. Just under two weeks ago, Germán Anuar Valencia, another Morena mayoral hopeful from northern Veracruz, was also shot dead.
The violence comes ahead of Mexico’s June 1 elections, when voters will choose officials in over 20,000 posts, including all 212 municipal mayoralties in Veracruz. That vote also includes the country’s first-ever judicial elections.
According to a recent report from Mexico City-based consultancy Integralia, there were 104 incidents of political violence in the first quarter of 2025—50 of them fatal. Morena politicians were disproportionately affected, accounting for the highest number of victims.
Veracruz ranked second in incidents of political violence this year with 13 cases. Morelos led the count with 17, with Veracruz being followed by Oaxaca (12), Puebla (11), and Guerrero (9).
