CHILPANSINGO, Mexico (AP) — A new mayor was sworn in Thursday in a southern Mexican city where its predecessor was murdered and beheaded less than a week after taking office.
The new mayor, Gustavo Alarcón, a doctor, was elected as the same candidate as the deceased Mayor Alejandro Arcos in the June election.
Arcos took office on October 1 in Chilpanxingo, the capital of southern Guerrero state, which has been hit by violence. But his decapitated body was found in a pickup truck on Sunday. His head was resting on the roof of the vehicle. Two rival drug gangs are fighting for control of the city.
Alarcón was sworn into office Thursday with a minimal security detail of just a handful of police officers. He pledged to “work for the good of all” and fight the violence that has gripped Chilpancingo for years.
Before he was killed, Arcos told local media he needed more protection, but officials said they had not received any formal requests. State and federal governments can provide mayors with bulletproof vehicles, additional bodyguards, and emergency warning systems. It’s unclear whether Alarcón received that kind of protection.
Chilpancingo, with a population of about 300,000, is dominated by two warring drug gangs, Ardillos and Tlacos. In one, hundreds protested in 2023 for the release of arrested suspects, hijacking government armored vehicles, blocking major highways and taking police hostage.
Earlier this week, federal Public Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said four mayors from other Mexican cities had requested protection on Monday, a day after Arcos’ remains were discovered. The requests came from Guerrero and Guanajuato, another violence-plagued state.
The situation in Guanajuato is so bad that at least four mayoral candidates have died ahead of the June election.
But violence in Guerrero reached unprecedented levels earlier this year, and Roman Catholic bishops announced they had helped arrange a ceasefire between two warring drug cartels in other parts of the state.
Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who at the time refused to confront the gangs, said he approved of such talks.
“Priests, pastors and believers from all churches participated and helped calm the country. I think that is very good,” said López Obrador, who left office on September 30.
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