133 politicians murdered ahead of Mexico elections: study

Mexico City (AFP) – A total of 133 politicians have been murdered in the run-up to Mexico’s elections on Sunday, the consulting firm Etellekt said, as the violence gripping the country exploded into politics on a record scale.

The murders — mostly of local-level politicians, the most frequent targets for Mexico’s powerful drug cartels — were recorded between September, when candidate registration opened, and the close of campaigning on Wednesday, when an interim mayor was killed in the western state of Michoacan.