Mexico City
CNN
–
Gadi Mokotov turns the car into a bullet. Living in Mexico City, he sees all sorts of demand for armored vehicles, from military trucks and secret government vehicles to high-roller Cadillacs in the capital, to even 10-year-old Honda.
His line of service grew longer as criminal violence was etched across the country. And many of his customized cars are back for repairs with bullet statues and crushed windows.
“We live in war,” he told CNN. “War with the Cartel.”
Government figures show that despite successive government efforts to combat Mexico’s deeply entrenched cartels, tens of thousands of people are killed each year in crime-related deaths. Recently, Mokotov says he is grateful that one of Guadalajara’s private clients brought a Ford pickup truck back to his shop with over 100 bullet marks, shedding tears and surviving the ambush.
For the past few years, Mexico City has been considered a relatively peaceful oasis within the country. But even here, violence has skyrocketed, with murders rising more than 150% compared to the same period last year, according to a report by El Pais.
Some attacks appear to be designed to send a message to the Mexican political class. Last week, two aides on the mayor of Mexico City were shot on their way to their work after authorities concluded it was a “direct and highly planned attack.” A few days ago, the mayoral candidate from Veracruz was shot dead along with three others during a celebratory campaign march.
Armored vehicles and bulletproof vests: the fear of violence ahead of Mexico’s judicial elections
As the controversial national election approaches Sunday, some Mexicans across the country are preparing for the worst.
Last year’s legislative elections were the most violent on record, with over 40 candidates being assassinated and hundreds of violent incidents, including attacks and tricks, largely due to cartels that aim to shake up votes and threaten candidates.
Although preparations for this year’s judicial vote were not so bloody, the terrifying environment persists. Nationally, at least four candidates have already abandoned the campaign after being threatened, with several judges completely refusing to campaign in areas controlled by the cartel, according to the Crisis Group of the International Conflict Research Institute. Since 2012, at least 17 judges and six clerks have been killed in connection with their work, the group notes.
One of the last acts of former President Andrez Manuel Lopez Obrador in 2024 was to pass constitutional reforms, which required that all judges in the country be elected by direct vote.
The vote, seen by supporters as an effort to ensure the autonomy and fairness of judges, has been accepted by President Claudia Sheinbaum, the successor and protégé of Lopez Obrador. On Sunday, June 1st, thousands of candidates will compete to win 881 seats.
Mexico City criminal attorney César Gutiérrez Priego, a criminal attorney running for the country’s Supreme Court seat, told CNN that he is running a campaign this spring in a bulletproof vest under his case.
“It doesn’t smell very good, but that’s what I need to do because I have to protect myself. I have two kids and I don’t want to be another number,” he says of the vest he’s worn for two months on the campaign trajectory.
Priego is not a man who is unaware of the potential for violence and corruption in Mexican politics. He decided to study law when he was in his 20s.
Trust in the judicial system has been broken many times across the country. Judges are widely recognized among the nation’s most corrupt officials, with many well-known cases not being concluded. According to Human Rights Watch, only 16% of criminal investigations were resolved overall in 2022.
Critics argue that addressing these issues requires much deeper changes, such as suppressing organized crime and dealing with corruption at the prosecution level and at the government, than this week’s judicial vote can address.
Both the Biden and Trump administrations in the US have warned against judicial votes, expressing concern that running for judges could expose them to political interests and potential corruption or threats by organized crime groups.
Still, Priego says he’s willing to try out the new system and face the personal risks of his life for shots in the country’s tallest bench seat.
“In Mexico, there’s a big problem here in our country. And what’s that problem? Criminals are some places, some agencies, and one of those agencies is the judicial system. And if we change, even if we put criminals in prison, you can go to prison.
Everyone agrees, ending the immunity has been a long time domestically behind, but not everyone agrees to a way to get there.
In his Mexico City Garage, Mokotov sees daily evidence of the crisis, including a burgeoning first-time client seeking his services: a woman who wants to add bulletproof armor to her humble commuter vehicle.
It’s a demand that even he gets a little intrusive, he says. “It’s not good to see moms here saying, ‘We need to protect our kids to go to school.’ They fear the lives of their children. ”
