A mayoral candidate in San Luis Potosí detailed the threats she has faced during her campaign in a tearful video made after an attack by gunmen on Wednesday.
Erika Briones, the Democratic Revolution Party candidate for Villa de Reyes, made the emotional address yesterday afternoon shortly after a pickup truck struck her vehicle, with her family inside, before the assailants opened fire.
In a separate event yesterday morning, municipal police discovered a threatening message and two pigs’ heads alongside promotional material for Briones’ campaign. The candidate also claimed that a death threat had been issued against her son.
Briones said security forces were present at the collision but offered no assistance. “The National Guard were traveling behind and did absolutely nothing. I’m with my family, this can’t be happening, surely the authorities can’t be [aligned] with those people,” she said.
She also indicated who she thought might be responsible. “These are dirty games … the PRI [Institutional Revolutionary Party] has to recognize that they lost Villa de Reyes, that the people don’t want them. They hate them: no one wants the family that has always been [in power],” referring to former mayor Juan Gabriel Solís.
The campaign has been the worst for violence against women on record, according to data gathered by citizens’ observatory Todas MX, which counts 21 female candidates assassinated between March 5 and May 31.
Sources: El Universal (sp), Infobae (sp)
