As millions of Mexicans lined up on Sunday to vote in the country's largest election in history, others were huddled at the door to the United States, fleeing violence and bereft of hope that a new government could staunch it.
With almost 30, 000 homicides registered in 2017, Mexico experienced its bloodiest year on record. Since election campaigning began last September, at least 145 politicians and candidates for office have been killed, according to data from the Mexico-based security consultancy Etellekt.
The victims belonged to a variety of political parties. Security experts say drug gangs are using violence to install friendly mayors and other elected officials and scare off would-be reformers who might stall their trade.
Mexican voters will elect a new president and decide on more than 3, 000 down-ballot seats on Sunday. Widespread disenchantment with the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) over intensifying violence have helped leftist frontrunner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador maintain a strong lead in opinion polls. He has promised to curtail corruption and take a different approach to Mexico's militarized fight against drug cartels.
But Oscar Misael Hernandez, a researcher at the College of the Northern Frontier, said many Mexicans have given up hope that their government can guarantee their security, which is why some are willing to risk everything on a long-shot asylum claim in the United States.
The violence, he said, “is impacting families, no matter their social class, gender or creed.”
————— 文章来源 / 路透社
asylum/əˈsaɪləm/
n. 政治庇护，避难
huddle/ˈhʌdl/
v. （因寒冷或害怕）挤在一起
e.g.
huddle together for warmth
flee/fliː/
v.（尤指害怕有危险而）逃避，逃跑
bereft/bɪˈreft/
adj. 完全没有，丧失，失去（某物）
e.g.
bereft of ideas
His death left her bereft.
staunch/stɔːntʃ/
v. 阻止…的流动；止住（血等的）流出
e.g.
staunch the blood
The government tried to staunch the flow of refugees to Germany.
homicide/ˈhɑːmɪsaɪd/
n.（蓄意）杀人罪
e.g.
pesticide
suicide
bloody/ˈblʌdi/
adj. 血腥的；残暴的
e.g.
a bloody battle
install/ɪnˈstɔːl/
v. （常以正式仪式）使就职，任命
e.g.
He was installed as President.
would-be/ˈwʊd biː/
adj. （形容想要成为…的人）未来的
e.g.
a would-be actress
stall/stɔːl/
v. 使延迟，停顿；阻碍，阻挡
e.g.
the stalled peace plan
His career had stalled.
down-ballot /daʊn ˈbælət/
adj. （选举中）非重要职位的
e.g.
be elected by ballot
disenchantment/ˌdɪsɪnˈtʃæntmənt/
n. 幻想破灭；醒悟
e.g.
a growing sense of disenchantment with my job
I'm still enchanted by my job.
frontrunner/frʌntˈrʌnər/
n. （竞赛中）最可能获胜者，领先者
curtail/kɜːrˈteɪl/
v. 限制；缩减
long-shot /ˌlɔːŋ ʃɑːt/
adj. 希望不大的（尝试）
e.g.
It's a long shot, but it just might work.
creed/kriːd/
n. 宗教信条
scare off
吓跑，吓退
drug cartel
贩毒集团
staunch，stall 和 curtail 的区别
这三个词意思相近，但搭配和具体含义都有差别。
staunch 一般指阻断流动，比如阻断水流，阻断通行的人流。最常见的用法特指止住流血，文中 staunch 的对象是 violence，暴力虽然并不能形象地类比成一个流动的事物，但有暴力就会有流血，而且屡禁不止的暴力事件是墨西哥民众心中共同的伤口，所以可以用 staunch。
stall 意指使一个进程、流程停滞下来，文中 stall 的对象是毒品交易，这种非法又高危的交易往往都有一个复杂的流程。
curtail 既可以是指缩短一段时间，比如 curtail the training program，缩短培训程序；又可以是指限制一种权力，比较贴近于“把权力关进笼子里“。文中 curtail 的对象是腐败，而腐败就是权力寻租的产物。
down-ballot
down-ballot 通常用来描述全国最重要的选票以下的其他各个地方的投票，例如，在总统选举中，选票（ballot）的最上方是总统候选人、各州参议员候选人和各选区众议员候选人紧随其后，所以参众两院的选举也被称为“down-ballot”，意即“选票数较低的、位于（总统）选票下方的选举”，他们的结果往往会受到投票最上方的总统选票的影响。