The leader of the Democratic Revolution Party, PRD, Nicholas Estrada Merino was found dead in a sugar cane field Thursday, police of the state of Oxaca said. The field was located in the town of Tuxtepec. The 32-year-old political leader of the leftist party was found with three gunshot wounds to the head. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death, the Associated Press reported.
The PRD has demanded a swift investigation, urging police to speed up the process. Both the police and the party declined to state whether or not the death is thought to be politically motivated.
"I don't want to say if this was political or party-related. We have to be cautious," Miguel Barbosa, PRD coordinator in the federal Senate, said. "Clearly we're talking about a scenario of risk for those in politics. But it doesn't help us right now ... to make declarations that are going to provoke tension and fear among citizens who are going to have to express themselves through their votes on July 7."
The news came just days before another political leader, Eleazar Armenta, who was running for city council in the town of Sinaloa de Leyva in Sinaloa was found shot to death in the town of Baburias. Lucas Lizarraga, campaign coordinator for the coalition "Together You Win," a that aligns the PRD and Workers Party along with the conservative National Action Party, PAN, asked that the July 7 elections be postponed. The death caused two candidates -- mayoral and state congress -- to drop out of the race for fear of their own safety.
"Candidates have received threats from organized crime groups and there is a risk of more casualties over the remainder of the campaign and on election day," Lizarraga said.
Estrada had been missing for more than two weeks. His car was found incinerated June 16. It is believed that the shooting occurred some time ago, as mostly his bones were discovered.
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