Brother of assassinated candidate to replace him in northern Mexico gubernatorial election

Brother to replace slain candidate in Mexico vote

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico — The brother of a gubernatorial candidate assassinated in northern Mexico was named Wednesday to run as his replacement in this weekend’s election.

Egidio Torre, older brother of slain candidate Rodolfo Torre, said he consulted with his family before agreeing to fill in as the Institutional Revolutionary Party’s candidate for governor of Tamaulipas state, across the border from Texas.

“I have accepted to be the substitute candidate for governor of the state of Tamaulipas despite the profound pain,” Torre said at a news conference. “I’m inspired by my brother’s death.”

Torre, a 53-year-old engineer and real state developer with little political experience, said he wants to fulfill his brother’s campaign promises.

“All Tamaulipans have to preserve his aspirations and keep alive the dream presented by an extraordinary man,” Torre said.

Gunmen ambushed Rodolfo Torre’s vehicle Monday as he headed to the airport in Ciudad Victoria, capital of Tamaulipas. Four of his companions were also killed.

Rodolfo Torre, whose name will appear on Sunday’s ballots, was viewed as the front-runner in the Tamaulipas governor’s contest.

Eleven other Mexican states will also elect governors Sunday amid a wave of attacks and threats from organized crime against politicians.

President Felipe Calderon said Torre’s slaying was an attempt by drug gangs to sway local and state elections. State authorities investigating the attack have made no arrests or determined a motive for the killings.

Rodolfo Torre was the first gubernatorial candidate assassinated in Mexico in recent memory. He was the highest-ranking candidate killed since Luis Donaldo Colosio, also a member of PRI, was gunned down while running for president in 1994.