‘UNGOVERNABILITY’

Mexican Mayor Killed Six Days After Taking Office

The mayor of Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero, was found dead—the second government official killed in the state in one week.

Alejandro Arcos Catalan, a mayor in southern Mexico, was killed only six days after taking office on October 1, local officials said. Arcos was mayor of Chilpancingo, the capital of the state of Guerrero. His death was confirmed and condemned by the governor of Guerrero, Evelyn Salgado Pineda, in a post on social media. Photos circulating on WhatsApp and Mexican media appeared to show the mayor’s head decapitated and placed on top of a truck, but these have not been verified by government or media organizations. Guerrero is famous for the resort city of Acapulco, but the state has also seen increasing violence in recent years from drug gangs. At least six political candidates were killed in the state so far in 2024—the most of any state in Mexico, Reuters reported. Arcos’ death comes only three days after the city government’s incoming secretary, Francisco Tapia, was also killed in a shooting. In a post on X, Sen. Alejandro Moreno called both men “young and honest officials who sought progress for their community.” The senator called for a federal investigation into the deaths and said Guerrero faced a “situation of ungovernability.”