Faced with the most violent election process in its history, Mexico must take serious measures to guarantee that its citizens can exercise their human rights, including the right to participation in public affairs during the elections this Sunday, Amnesty International said today.
“The Mexican authorities must provide the necessary conditions so that people’s human rights are not affected in the context of the electoral process, including throughout polling day on Sunday and over the following days” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
On Sunday 1 July Mexico will hold elections for more than 3,400 public posts, including the election of the next Mexican president, and the entire federal Congress will be replaced.
During the 2018 electoral campaign, at least 120 people have been killed in relation to the electoral process currently underway, and many of them were candidates for election to public posts.
This violent context brings with it the risk that during this electoral process people cannot freely exercise their human rights for fear of reprisal. The state has the obligation to protect the human rights of all people, including protection from attacks perpetuated by the state itself or by other actors.
This level of violence is clear proof of the deep human rights and security crisis which Mexico is facing. The next government must take specific measures in this respect with the human rights of all people as the central focus of their public policies. During the three televised debates which were held between April and June, the presidential candidates did not discuss in detail the security and human rights crisis which the country is facing.
“The next government must show their ability and willingness to take the necessary measures to reverse the deep human rights crisis in which the country finds itself submerged”, said Guevara-Rosas.
The country is facing an unprecedented crisis in terms of security and grave violations of human rights. More than 37,000 people are currently disappeared, according to official records. The murder rate is historically high at 20.52 for every 100,000 people in 2017, according to federal government data, and impunity is widespread.