“I want to die here” – Now Alejandro Arcos has been brutally murdered –

Alejandro Arcos was found dead on Sunday in Chilpancingo, the epicenter of Mexico’s drug violence. EPA/AOP

The new mayor of a Mexican city Alejandro Arcos was in office for less than a week before he was brutally murdered.

Arcos was found dead in Chilpancingo, a town of 280,000, on Sunday. The 43-year-old had served as the city’s mayor for only six days. The BBC tells about it.

Three days earlier, the new secretary of the city council Francisco Tapia was shot dead. Senator Alejandro Moreno described Arcos and Tapia as “young and honest office holders who tried to bring about progress in their communities”.

Chilpancingo, located in the state of Guerrero, is at the center of Mexico’s drug violence. The area is close to the shore of the Pacific Ocean, where smuggling routes start. Two rival drug gangs, the Ardillos and the Tlacos, have been fighting for control of the area for a long time.

In an old video shared on social media, Arcos speaks emotionally about his own city and community. He urges those who left the city to remember their parents and grandparents who still live there, because “loneliness is the worst disease you can experience”. It is not known when the video was shot.

– I have been asked how I would like to be remembered. I would like to be remembered by people as a defender of peace, a defender of development, he says in the video.

Young and educated people in particular leave Mexico mainly for the United States. Arcos chose otherwise.

– I was born in this city. This is where I grew up, studied. I have lived here all my life. I’ve never left. And here I also want to die.

Authorities have not released any details about the investigation or the suspects. Arcos’ murder was confirmed after photos of his suspected remains were shared on social media.

Across Mexico, drug cartels have murdered dozens of politicians. Violence is often directed especially at politicians at the local level.