Ruffo Appel is a political prisoner, says Kenia López Rabadán

The armed attack against Valentín Lavín Romero, mayor of Temoac, Morelos, which occurred inside the City Hall, raised to 14 the number of municipal presidents deprived of their lives during the current government. Specialists warn that this reflects the advance of organized crime in local governments.

A crisis that is growing in small municipalities

According to records from civil organizations and local media, Oaxaca tops the list with five councilors who were victims of homicide in the last year and a half, followed by Michoacán with four. The attacks against municipal authorities show, according to experts, a dispute between criminal groups for territorial control and political influence in communities.

• Alejandro Arcos Catalán, from Chilpancingo, Guerrero (October 6)
• Román Ruiz Bohórquez, from Candelaria Loxicha, Oaxaca (October 15)
• Jesús Franco Lárraga, from Tancanhuitz, San Luis Potosí (December 15)
• Mario Hernández García, from Santiago Amoltepec, Oaxaca (May 15)
• Isaías Rojas Ramírez, from Metlatónoc, Guerrero (June 2)
• Yolanda Sánchez Figueroa, from Cotija, Michoacán (June 3)
• Salvador Bastida García, from Tacámbaro, Michoacán (June 5)
• Lilia Gema García Soto, from San Mateo Piñas, Oaxaca (June 15)
• Martha Laura Mendoza Mendoza, from Tepalcatepec, Michoacán (June 17)
• Miguel Bahena Solórzano, from Pisaflores, Hidalgo (October 20)
• Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, from Uruapan, Michoacán (November 1)
• Joel Ángel Bravo Martínez, from San Miguel Amatitlán, Oaxaca (June 13)
• Eduardo Saavedra López, from San Miguel Yogovana, Oaxaca (July 12)
• Valentín Lavín Romero, from Temoac, Morelos (July 22)

Security specialists point out that small municipalities are the most vulnerable due to their limited institutional and security capacities. Víctor Sánchez, academic at the Autonomous University of Coahuila, explained:

The attacks against mayors represent a symptom of municipal capture by criminal organizations, which seek to influence local police, political decisions and territorial control.

The PAN senator, Mario Vázquez, stated that these homicides reflect the abandonment of municipal governments in the face of organized crime and accused a lack of federal support. Meanwhile, federal authorities have noted a reduction in high-impact crimes, although experts consider that the security strategy has not been able to uniformly strengthen local governments.

Former president Vicente Fox Quesada and four former governors of the National Action Party (PAN) formed a defense front for Ernesto Ruffo Appel, after the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) accused him of alleged crimes of organized crime and tax fraud.

At a press conference, Fox was accompanied by former governors Francisco Javier Ramírez Acuña and Alberto Cárdenas Jiménez, from Jalisco, as well as Juan Carlos Romero Hicks and Miguel Márquez Márquez, from Guanajuato. They demanded that the judicial process be carried out with transparency and adherence to the rule of law.

Fox stated that he “puts his hands in the fire” for who was the first opposition governor in the modern history of Mexico. He assured that the defense is not seeking privileges, but rather to guarantee that his constitutional rights are respected during the process.

The former president questioned the initial hearing against Ruffo Appel and pointed out that there are doubts about the impartiality of the procedure. He maintained that the accusations have a political background and recalled that large-scale fuel smuggling networks and tax fraud were previously reported.

Fox criticized the new Judiciary, which emerged from a popular election, which he described as a body without independence to guarantee fair processes. The former PAN governors insisted that the case must be resolved based on evidence and under the principles of legality and due process.

FDA Reporting and Correction

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially linked a sample of lettuce from Taylor Fresh Foods, a company with operations in Guanajuato, with a gastrointestinal outbreak in that country. Days later, the authority retracted it: the result was a false positive. The case generated uncertainty in the export sector.

Reaction of Mexican producers and authorities

Given the accusation, the National Agri-Food Health, Safety and Quality Service (Senasica) analyzed 14 samples of lettuce and water from the producing areas. The results ruled out the presence of the Cyclospora cayetanensis parasite. The most affected entities were Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Puebla, Aguascalientes and Sonora, which concentrate a large part of lettuce exports to the United States.

Representatives of the agri-food sector requested to strengthen the budget for health and safety. They argue that more resources are required to ensure the safety of export products and prevent future incidents that damage buyers’ confidence.

The case exposes the fragility of the control processes and the dependence on external certifications. Producers are confident that the FDA’s rectification will help restore trade without further losses.