Violence that has characterized the election campaign in Mexico continued on election day.
Two people were killed in two attacks on polling stations in the state of Puebla in central Mexico, according to a local government source to AFP.
Just hours before polling stations opened, a local candidate was also shot dead in the state of Michoacan in western Mexico, according to local prosecutors.
Mexico is expected to make history on Sunday by electing its first female president. However, the election campaign has been violent, with more than 25 local candidates killed.
Polling stations opened at 8 local time, and before them, the ruling party's presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum had a lead over the leading opposition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez.
The only man running, Jorge Álvarez Máynez, has trailed far behind in the polls – which means that a woman is likely to break the highest political glass ceiling in Mexico.
The fight against organized crime is likely to be the biggest challenge. Mexico's organized crime is behind the violent spiral that has claimed politicians' lives in the country over the years, especially those holding or running for regional and local positions.
Sheinbaum wants to continue on the same line as outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador – with "hugs, not bullets" and social measures to address the root of the problem. Gálvez has promised a tougher stance on cartel-related violence.
