Benjamín Medrano Quezada, the first openly gay politician elected mayor in Mexico, has been shot dead at the age of 59.
The former mayor of Fresnillo, in the northern state of Zacatecas, was killed in the city of Guadalajara on 7 July, according to Mexican authorities. Local reports said he was shot several times after leaving an ice cream shop in the Santa Elena de la Cruz neighbourhood before the attacker fled the scene on a motorcycle. Investigators have not announced a motive and no arrests have been reported.
Medrano made history in 2013 when he was elected mayor of Fresnillo as a candidate for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), becoming the first openly gay person to hold such a post in Mexico. He served as mayor until 2015 before representing Zacatecas in Mexico's Chamber of Deputies.
In a statement following his death, Fresnillo City Council expressed its condolences to his family and friends, describing his death as an "irreparable loss".
Before entering politics, Medrano was a well-known performer in Zacatecas, recording several albums of ballads and ranchera music. He also ran a gay bar in Fresnillo and was a prominent local businessman before beginning his political career as a councillor in 1995.
Despite his status as one of Mexico's most prominent openly gay politicians, Medrano often found himself at odds with much of the country's LGBTQ+ movement. A practising Catholic, he publicly opposed same-sex marriage, adoption rights for same-sex couples and Pride marches, arguing that Mexican society was not ready for such changes.
In recent years, Medrano had faced legal scrutiny over allegations that he embezzled public funds while serving as president of the Board of Trustees of the National Fair of Zacatecas in 2019. An arrest warrant was issued in 2022 after he failed to attend a court hearing, although reports said a judge later overturned the warrant in 2025. His family maintained that the accusations were politically motivated.
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