Nayarit is a small state in Western Mexico
with a population of 1.2 million. Its capital is the inland city of Tepic.
Nayarit has a significant shoreline on the Pacific Coast and popular tourist
areas along the "Riviera Nayarit". The state is bordered by
Sinaloa to the northwest, Durango to the north, Zacatecas to the northeast and
Jalisco to the south.
The political representation in Nayarit is
diverse. The governor is Antonio Echevarría García from the National Action
Party (PAN). Echevarría is a business man and political neophyte who defeated
the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate by 11 points, garnering
38% of the total.
Of the three federal senators, two are with
the PRI, and one is with the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).
Nayarit is known for its
tranquility, particularly in the resort areas – the tourism industry is
estimated to be worth $200 million annually. However, Nayarit is
unfortunately located along a major transit point for drugs, and is squeezed
between competing territories of two major cartels: the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. It is estimated that 600 people are missing
in Nayarit, with the number perhaps much higher, given the fear some people feel
in reporting to the authorities.
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| Tepic leads the country in % murder increase in 2018 |
The capital city Tepic, which has about half
a million people, has been affected by this turmoil, especially recently. Among
the 30 municipalities with the most violent indexes for the first four months
of 2018, Tepic registered the highest percent increase, at 555%. Between
January and April of 2018, the authorities recorded only nine murders with
firearms. In the first four months of 2018 there were 59 cases.
This ongoing violence likely the result of continued fallout from the death of “H2”, also known as “El Chico”, the leader of the Beltrán Leyva, who was killed by the armed forces, along with 15 other people, in a confrontation in Tepic in February, 2017. Los Mazatlecos, an enforcer gang of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, is still battling it out with the Sinaloa Cartel. Seeking opportunity, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is also actively trying to take control of the "plaza" (territory).
There has been some pressure on journalists in Nayarit. Leading up to the drug war – which began in December, 2006 – there was one reporter killed in the state, in 1957. However, since the start of the drug war two journalists have been killed, both in 2015.
During this election cycle, Nayarit has also faced fairly typical accusations of corruption, with the local National Action Party allegedly offering $1,500 pesos (about US $75) in exchange for electoral cards.
And what does it mean
at the federal level? It would be surprising if there’d be much support for
federal PRI candidate José Antonio Meade, given the unpopularity of the sitting
PRI president Enrique Peña Nieto. However, the PRI has a solid ground game,
with party representatives at virtually every poll, thus increasing their ability
to counter corrupt practices from other parties – and at times promote their
own.
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| Party presence at ballot boxes in four states, including Nayarit |
The PAN candidate Ricardo
Anaya will also have his fair share of support. Given the success of governor Antonio Echevarría García, those citizens of Nayarit that fear the
perceived leftism of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) will happily park their
vote with the PAN.
And AMLO himself? He’ll do as well here as
elsewhere – which is to say he’ll win the plurality – particularly given the
emerging crisis in Tepic.
Below are the links to the posts for each state:
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