(UnitedVoice.com) – A senior Mexican politician has been murdered in a shocking attack. Ricardo Flores Suárez was shot dead near his home by a gunman. It’s the latest incident in a region where political conflicts could be fueling a wave of violent crime.
On July 31, Suárez, a two-time federal legislator who had become the legal director for the border state of Nuevo Leon, was in the cafeteria at a soccer ground near his home when he was attacked. Local law enforcement says they’ve recovered cartridge cases from the scene, but haven’t given any details on how many assailants were involved. The Nuevo Leon Attorney General’s office released a statement confirming Suárez’s death and adding that two other people — a 38-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman — were also injured in the attack.
Suárez’s death comes at a tense time in Nuevo Leon politics. The slain man was a member of the conservative National Action Party (PAN), which along with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), is part of the opposition majority in the state legislature. The legislature is locked in a standoff with the state’s liberal governor, Samuel Garcia of the left-wing Citizen’s Movement (MC). The conflict between the legislature and executive has led to political paralysis, with both sides trying to obstruct the other’s initiatives — and criminals are taking advantage.
The state legislature has been pushing for action on rising levels of violent crime. Lawmakers are calling for a “security and dialog council” to resolve the impasse and get some action on reining in the crime wave. State congressman Waldo Fernandez says the situation is making the state ungovernable — but Garcia doesn’t seem to be listening. So far, he hasn’t even commented on Suárez’s murder. Instead, he’s busy tweeting about his upcoming trip to India, where he hopes to persuade car builder Tata Motors to invest in his state. But will Indian businessmen want to sink their money into a state sliding towards lawlessness?
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