On Sunday, Mexicans will vote in what is being described as the country's biggest election, with the presidency, the entire Congress and thousands of state and municipal positions up for grabs. The election comes at a time of record levels of violence.
The BBC's Shaimaa Khalil visited Culiacán, one of the worst-hit cities, and found that while residents she spoke to planned to vote, they held out little hope for change.
When you drive around Culiacán, it is easy to miss the crosses and small shrines dotting the streets. They mark the spots where bodies have been found.
Investigative journalist Miguel Vera says there are so many that locals have stopped noticing them. “They're everywhere and we're so used to them,” he says.
Culiacán is the stronghold of the Sinaloa…
