Noé Ramos, candidate for mayor of Mante, Tamaulipas, murdered

At 11:35 in the morning this Friday, the candidate for re-election from the municipality of Mante, Tamaulipas, made a live broadcast on his Facebook account in which he ate tamales that some supporters invited him. “It is something very special that people give me a glass of water, invite me a taco, a tamale, it is something that makes me very happy. It motivates me to continue working,” said Noé Ramos Ferretiz in front of the camera. Just an hour later, the Tamaulipas Prosecutor's Office reported the murder of the National Action Party (PAN) candidate. He was stabbed in the middle of the street while continuing with his campaign events.

The candidate, dressed in blue to represent his political group, walked through the streets of the Azucarera neighborhood, near the center of Ciudad Mante (79,000 inhabitants). A person approached and stabbed Ramos Ferretiz numerous times, who was left lying on the ground. The murderer, on the street and at noon, managed to flee. How throughout the campaign, the criminal, until now, has no face or name. In this electoral process, 29 local candidates have been murdered. The authorities have not sentenced a single criminal.

The Tamaulipas Prosecutor's Office has reported that it is at the scene of the crime. “Investigative police and experts have moved to the scene of the events, to process the area and collect evidence, which will allow the clarification of these and find him or the possible perpetrators,” the institution has declared.

The spokesperson for the Tamaulipas Public Security Secretariat, Jorge Collagar, stated in an interview with

that none of the three candidates for Ciudad Mante had requested security for the electoral events. Collagar explained this Thursday that only six candidates had requested security for their campaigns in the State of Tamaulipas.

The president of the PAN, Marko Cortés, has criticized the security plan of the National Electoral Institute (INE). “They have just murdered the mayor and candidate for re-election of El Mante, Tamaulipas. In the country where nothing happens and where criminals are embraced, violence is unstoppable and the INE still does not have a risk map for this electoral process,” he has published on his X account—formerly Twitter. The security of local applicants is the responsibility of the State INE.

Ramos Ferretiz had left his position as mayor on March 3 to seek re-election. He had only been campaigning for five days. Her murder is reminiscent of that of Gisela Gaytán, Morena's candidate for the municipality of Celaya, Guanajuato, who was shot during the day and in the middle of the street on her first day of campaigning. Her murder, to date, remains unpunished.