The indigenous leader, former mayor, and leftist deputy Juan Carlos Mezhua was shot dead on Sunday morning in Veracruz, where his murder has caused a great stir. The incident occurred at around 07:00 local time in the community of Piedras Blancas in his native Zongolica, a mountainous area of the state, and just hours before a scheduled visit by President Claudia Sheinbaum to the port of Veracruz. According to police reports, the politician was summoned to the community, where he was attacked by armed men traveling in two pickup trucks. The murder occurred about 50 meters from a National Guard barracks. “With deep sadness, we inform you that our leader Juan Carlos Mezhua has been MURDERED. We condemn the ineffective actions of the governor and the president of the republic.” “Juan Carlos was a man of integrity and great political experience, a great human being,” his relatives reported on their personal account on social media X. The State Attorney General's Office reported that it has opened an investigation into the crime. The indigenous leader belonged to the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), for which he was mayor of Zongolica, a federal and local deputy; with a strong influence in the central region. Subsequently, Mezhua became independent and in the 2024 local election, he unsuccessfully sought to be an independent candidate for governor; and in the current municipal election, he was an independent candidate for mayor, where he came in second place. Mezhua's murder has shaken Veracruz, this in the midst of President Sheinbaum's visit, which will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the independence of the sea in Mexico in the port of Veracruz. Veracruz has suffered an escalation of violence during the current year, and in less than a month, the number of former candidates killed adds up to two. On November 6, the former candidate of the National Action Party (PAN) for the mayorship of Chinameca, Lázaro Francisco Luría, was kidnapped and murdered. Then, on November 18, the former candidate for mayor of San Andrés Tuxtla, Pedro González Rodríguez, was shot dead in his particular home located in the community of Villa Comoapan. The attacks on politicians come after on November 1, a group of hitmen shot and killed Carlos Manzo Rodríguez, mayor of the municipality of Uruapan, in the Mexican state of Michoacán, a crime that shocked the country.
