Carlos Manzo

Biography

Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez (9 April 1985 – 1 November 2025) was a Mexican politician known for his outspoken stance against organized crime groups in Mexico. In 2024, he successfully ran as an independent for the office of municipal president (mayor) of Uruapan, Michoacán.

Manzo was the son of the founder of Uruapan's first gallery for visual artists. He earned a degree in political science and public administration from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO). Before running for elected office, he worked as an auditor for the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in Michoacán and was involved with the youth wing of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

He ran as an independent candidate in the 2018 general election, competing to represent Michoacán's 9th congressional district in the Chamber of Deputies, but lost. Three years later, he sought the same seat as a candidate of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) and was elected for the 2021–2024 term. As a deputy, Manzo became known for publicly addressing reports of police misconduct in Uruapan. He resigned in 2024 to seek the mayoralty of Uruapan as an independent, following his departure from Morena, which had decided not to nominate him. He won by a landslide, securing 66 percent of the vote.

As mayor, Manzo gained national attention after declaring a zero-tolerance stance against organized crime in the municipality and criticizing President Claudia Sheinbaum's security policies; as a result, he received comparisons with Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele, although he rejected the analogy.

During the evening of 1 November 2025 – Day of the Dead in Mexico – he was shot dead at a festival and his assassination drew widespread outrage in Uruapan. Protests were organized in Uruapan and nationwide against the Sheinbaum administration with protestors citing government corruption, the failure to curb cartel violence, and Sheinbaum's socialist political background as their reasons for mobilizing. A common chant at these protests was, "Carlos did not die, the government killed him," underscoring their belief that government corruption is intertwined with cartel influence and the wave of political assassinations occurring under the administration. Grecia Quiroz, Manzo's wife, was later appointed as his successor vowing to carry on his stance against organized crime.