Woman mayor of Mexico town killed, just hours after election of first female president

MEXICO CITY - The woman mayor of a town in western Mexico was shot dead on June 3, the authorities said, just hours after the country

elected its first female president

 in a race marred by deadly attacks on candidates.

Ms Yolanda Sanchez Figueroa, mayor of Cotija in Michoacan state, was walking home from a gym with her bodyguard when they were shot by people in a white van, said the state attorney-general in a statement.

Both Ms Sanchez Figueroa and her bodyguard later died in hospital, it said, adding that an investigation has been launched.

Confirmation of Ms Sanchez Figueroa’s death came hours after Ms Claudia Sheinbaum won a landslide victory to become the first female president of Mexico, marking an achievement in a country known for its patriarchal culture and widespread femicide.

Widespread violence against politicians

loomed large in the election, the bloodiest in Mexico’s history. Dozens of political candidates and applicants were killed by criminal organisations during the campaign season in attempts to influence the vote.

Ms Sheinbaum will begin her presidency on Oct 1, replacing outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, her long-time ally whose social welfare programmes lifted many Mexicans out of poverty, making their leftist Morena party a favourite in the polls.

But she inherits an epidemic of gang-led violence and unsolved disappearances in the country, and faces an urgent task to bolster domestic and border security.

Mexico’s homicide rate is among the highest in the world, and it remains a dangerous place for women, with figures showing that around 10 women are murdered every day. More than 100,000 people remain missing in the country, with no explanation of their fate. According to think-tank Mexico Evalua, around 95 per cent of all crimes nationwide went unsolved in 2022.

Ms Sanchez Figueroa had previously been kidnapped in September 2023 in the city of Zapopan, and was released three days later. Three men were arrested and charged with her kidnapping.

Local authorities, including the government of Michoacan, condemned the deadly attack on the mayor and her bodyguard.

“A security operation coordinated with federal agencies has been deployed to find those responsible for the incident,” the state’s Ministry of Public Security said. CNN