This study, based on ethnographic analysis, reveals that municipal government elections in Mexico have become spaces of struggle among criminal groups striving to strengthen their presence throughout the territory. In municipal contexts characterised by institutional vacuums, delinquent organisations have succeeded in capturing political spaces. We argue that the continuous violence that has plagued the country since 2013 can be explained largely by factors of an institutional order coupled with distorted electoral processes in municipalities and states, exacerbated by widespread citizen disenchantment with democracy and especially manifest at the level of local government. This situation suggests the need for strategies that address the influence of these criminal groups that go beyond police-based approaches and for actions designed to improve the quality of state institutions.

中文翻译：

---

地方选举和有组织犯罪：墨西哥米却肯州的案例

这项基于人种学分析的研究表明，墨西哥的市政府选举已成为犯罪集团之间的斗争空间，这些犯罪集团努力加强其在整个领土的存在。在以制度真空为特征的市政环境中，违法组织成功地占领了政治空间。我们认为，自 2013 年以来困扰该国的持续暴力事件在很大程度上可以解释为制度秩序的因素以及市政和州扭曲的选举过程，以及广泛的公民对民主的不满情绪，尤其是在地方政府层面上的表现。