The brutal slaying of Carlos Manzo, the Morena party's mayoral candidate for Tepalcatepec in Michoacán, and his wife Dulce Maria Ortiz, unfolded on November 4, 2025—just days before Mexico's midterm elections. Armed gunmen ambushed them in their vehicle, unleashing a hail of bullets that left both dead at the scene, per local reports from Reuters and Al Jazeera. Authorities point to the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) as suspects, amid escalating turf wars over avocado routes and political control in the cartel-plagued state.
In a defiant twist, Ortiz's sister, Amanda Manzo, was sworn in as interim mayor on November 6, vowing to "continue his legacy" and battle the cartels head-on. "We won't let fear win," she declared, echoing the resilience of families like the one in Tehuixtla (2018), where a slain candidate's wife ran and won amid similar threats.
Your point on the anchor's casual delivery? Spot-on—Mexican media often normalizes this horror, with phrases like "another casualty" before pivoting to weather, numbing viewers to the 30+ political killings this election cycle. Surviving to vote? In cartel hotspots like Michoacán, it's a badge of honor. What's the wildest election survival story you've heard?
