‘We are living in a war’: Mexicans brace for violence ahead of judicial elections

Living in Mexico City, Gadi Mokotov sees all sorts of demands for armored vehicles – from military trucks and secretive government vehicles to the Cadillacs of the capital’s high rollers and even 10-year-old Hondas.

Gadi Mokotov makes cars bulletproof. Living in Mexico City, he sees all sorts of demands for armored vehicles – from military trucks and secretive government vehicles to the Cadillacs of the capital’s high rollers and even 10-year-old Hondas. As criminal violence ticks up across the country, the lines for his services have grown longer – and more of his customized cars are coming back for repairs with bullet pocks and shattered windows. “We are living in a war,” he told CNN. “A war with the cartels.” Despite the efforts of successive governments to combat Mexico’s deeply entrenched cartels, tens of thousands of people are killed each year in crime-related deaths, according to government figures. Recently, Mokotov says one of his private clients in Guadalajara brought their Ford pick-up truck back to his shop with over 100 bullet marks, breaking down into tears, thankful to have survived an ambush. In years past, Mexico City was seen as a relatively peaceful oasis in the country. But even here, violence is spiking, with murders up over 150% compared to the same period last year, according to reporting by El Pais. Some attacks appear to be designed to send a message to Mexico’s political class. Last week, two aides to the mayor of Mexico City were gunned down on their way to work, in what authorities concluded was a “direct and highly planned attack.” A few days earlier, a mayoral candidate in the state of Veracruz had been shot and killed alongside three other people during a festive campaign march.