Local communities face political violence in run-up to local elections.
Artemio Antonio PJrez was reportedly beaten and arrested on 14 June 2000 after expresing criticism of the PRI and arguing that he had the right to express his opinion. Despite an official complaint, the authorities have so far failed to take effective steps to establish the circumstances, manner and cause of his death. It is now time for the Mexican authorities to break with this tradition and to take decisive action to protect the rights of all in the run-up and aftermath of the elections. Such action would be in keeping with international commitments undertaken by Mexico by signing up to international human rights conventions, such as the Interamerican Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which enshrine among others the rights to life, physical integrity, freedom of expression and free and universal suffrage. Another step has been to allow the presence of national and international election monitors to try and assess and ensure the fairness of elections.