‘It’s become a battleground’: Mexico’s local candidates face deadly violence

A forensic technician works at a scene where Bertha Gisela Gaytán, a mayoral candidate, was killed by unknown assailants during a campaign rally, in San Miguel Octopan, Guanajuato, on 1 April. Photograph: Juan Moreno/Reuters

Breakfast with Juan Miguel Ramírez, candidate for mayor in Celaya, Mexico, is interrupted by the thud of army boots coming down the stairs.

Soldiers have been camped on the roof of the family home since Ramírez replaced his predecessor, Gisela Gaytán, who was shot dead on the first day of her electoral campaign in one of Mexico’s most dangerous cities.