Mexican Mayor Beaten, Dragged Behind Truck by Angry Mob
Failing to deliver on a political promise can make voters angry.
Just ask Mayor Jorge Luis Escandón Hernández of the Mexican community of Las Margaritas, who was beaten and dragged through the streets of his village Tuesday by residents angry that roadwork Hernández had promised had not been done.
Hernández was injured but was eventually rescued by Mexican state police, Fox News reported.
The incident in Chiapas state in southern Mexico resulted in 11 arrests.
According to a Spanish-language report translated by The Washington Post, a few of the community’s employees tried to stop the abduction but were outnumbered by farmers bearing sticks.
Chiapas Attorney General Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca said in a statement that about 50 people made up the mob that hauled Hernández from his office.
Hernández had promised to build a road in the part of Las Margaritas where the protesters live, but no road has been built.
Some versions of the incident were posted on Twitter.
#Enterate Circula en redes video en el que pobladores del ejido Santa Rita en el municipio de #LasMargaritas, #Chiapas, suben en una camioneta al alcalde Jorge Luis Escandón Hernández. Los motivos es porque no ha cumplido lo prometido en campaña. pic.twitter.com/Yywx2exGAC
— Tabasco Al Minuto (@Tabalminutomx) October 8, 2019
#ÚLTIMAHORA
Habitantes de la comunidad Santa Rita Invernadero amarran y arrastran con una camioneta al alcalde de Las Margaritas, Chiapas, Jorge Luis Escandón, a quien exigen proyectos productivos y rehabilitación de un camino. pic.twitter.com/Kzw9ZmfwFU— PortavozChiapas (@PortavozChiapas) October 8, 2019
The incident led to a brawl as local residents fought police who came to rescue the mayor. At least 20 people were injured in the fighting.
The Chiapas Attorney General’s Office said Hernández is “safe and sound” and that he was examined by doctors after the incident.
The mayor plans to file charges of abduction and attempted murder, according to the BBC
The attorney general’s office condemned the violent attack and pledged to deploy more officers to “guarantee the rule of law and security throughout the state territory.”
“Free demonstration is guaranteed in Chiapas, as long as it is peaceful, but we will not tolerate or generate impunity for any criminal behavior,” Abarca said, according to USA Today.
Mexico’s National Guard had been dispatched to patrol the community after the incident, according to The Associated Press.
This was the second time in the past year that local residents vented their anger at the unfulfilled promise. Four months ago, the mayor’s office was vandalized, but he was not there at the time.
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