In the Mexican city of Maravatio, two mayoral hopefuls were gunned down within hours of each other, reported The Associated Press.

Experts warn the June 2 national elections could be the country's most violent on record.

The expanding power of drug cartels in Mexico is a looming threat, as roughly three dozen candidates were killed in the last nationwide election in 2021.

Both candidates were to begin their formal campaigns on Friday.

On Tuesday, a state of disbelief spread through the farming town, and dozens of state police surrounded the city hall premises.

One of the murdered hopefuls, gynecologist Miguel Angel Zavala, was a Maravatio resident.

Homemaker Carmen Luna said the crime was shocking and incomprehensible.

"The way I see it, there's no explanation for killing a person ... it might have been a power struggle between them."

Luna, one of Zavala's patients, ruled out any personal motive in his killing.

"He was one of the best" doctors in town, she told AP. "He took care of me and was very good. He was very friendly."

Luna noted that while she hasn't voted in years, "whether it's one or the other, everything stays the same," as the killings left people "angry and feeling powerless because if the government doesn't do anything, you can't do anything."

Maravatío Mayor Jaime Hinojosa Campa claims he was unaware of any threats against the men but said that "everything points toward" organized crime as the culprit behind the brutal killings. He added that authorities are working on security protocols for the remaining candidates, who are understandably shaken by the killings.

"What happened yesterday scared all of us."

On Tuesday, state prosecutors revealed that Armando Pérez Luna was found shot to death in his car in Maravatío just before midnight.

He was the mayoral candidate for the conservative National Action Party.

"This illustrates the extremely serious level of violence and lack of safety that prevails ahead of the most important elections in Mexican history," National Action's leader, Marko Cortés, wrote on social media.

Only hours earlier, officials with the ruling Morena party confirmed the killing of their mayoral hopeful, Zavala, found fatally shot in his car on Monday.

The Morena party state committee released a statement to say the killing of Zavala was "a cowardly and reprehensible act." Head of the Morena party in Michoacan, Juan Pablo Celis, disclosed that Zavala had announced his intention to run but hadn't yet been designated as the party's official candidate.

Zavala's killing follows another Morena mayoral hopeful who was killed last year.

Interference From Drug Cartels:

The AP revealed the western state of Michoacan has been particularly hard hit by gang turf wars, with the Jalisco New Generation cartel fighting a local gang, the Viagras, for control.

According to the group Civic Data, a January report on political violence declared, "2023 was the most violent year in our database. And everything suggests that 2024 will be worse."

Mayoral, state, and federal elections take place on the same day. "It is likely that the biggest elections in history will also suffer the biggest attacks from organized crime," Civic Data said.

Additionally, the group reported that five other individuals intending to run for office were killed in Mexico in January.

A Maravatio resident, Marcos Bautista, commented Zavala and Perez were newcomers to the political world but respected local figures advocating for change in a country tired of career politicians.