At least nine dead and dozens wounded at political rally in Mexico

A political rally for the Movimiento Ciudadano party in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León turned into a tragedy, forcing presidential candidate Jorge Álvarez Máynez to suspend his electoral campaign.

Álvarez Máynez, who is third in the polls, was at the campaign closing of Lorenia Canavati von Borstel, who is running for mayor of San Pedro Garza García, when tragedy hit.

Image: @GabrielCasau / X

Mexican newspaper Excélsior reported that strong gusts of wind caused the stage of El Obispo Baseball Park, where the rally was taking place, to collapse.

Image: @lopezdoriga / X

A video published on X (formerly Twitter) shows the presidential hopeful, the candidate for mayor, and other attendees running away as the metal structure carrying the party logo went down.

Image: @lopezdoriga /

The strong wind caused by stormy weather brought down the roof of the venue, causing the metal bars that dominated the stage to collapse.

Photo: @azucenau /

The Government of Nuevo León, cited by the Spanish newspaper El País, indicates that, so far, nine people have perished, including a child, and about 60 have been wounded.

The Citizen Movement presidential candidate wrote on his social networks that, despite having been taken to a hospital, he did not suffer any injuries during the accident.

“What we experienced took place in just a few seconds: A gust came, a sudden wind, and unfortunately, the stage collapsed, causing a fatal accident,” declared Álvarez Máynez, according to AP News and quoted by the BBC.

“I am fine and in contact with state authorities to follow up on what happened,” Álvarez Maynez wrote on his social networks.

The presidential candidate of Citizen Party also asked for transparency by the authorities when carrying out the necessary investigations into the accident.

The digital media Infobae indicated that members of the National Guard, Civil Force, and the Army arrived at the scene to assist the injured and remove the metal structure.

According to the BBC, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador shared a heartfelt message to those affected, sending “a hug to family, friends of the victims and supporters of that political organization.”

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