The shooting and investigation
Rivas Ríos was sitting in a blue compact car outside Miche Lui's, a business in the Ejidos de Acapantzingo neighborhood, when the gunmen fired several shots. He died from his injuries. Security forces chased the fleeing attackers as far as Humboldt Street in downtown Cuernavaca.
The Morelos State Prosecutor's Office, known as the Fiscalía General del Estado de Morelos, is leading the criminal investigation. His previous reports of death threats are expected to be a principal line of inquiry, but the motive remains unknown. Investigators have not identified the attackers or announced a suspect.
Authorities have not described what protection, if any, Rivas Ríos had when he was attacked. It is also unclear whether his earlier complaints named the people making the threats. There is no established account of who ordered the killing.
Morelos Governor Margarita González Saravia described Rivas Ríos as "my friend and fellow movement member". She said: "In Morelos there is no room for impunity; we will act so that justice is done." She directed the state's Peace and Security Construction Board, the Mesa de Construcción de Paz y Seguridad, to coordinate its work.
Cuernavaca is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Mexico City and attracts foreign residents and weekend visitors. Travelers considering a visit to Morelos should consult the US State Department's travel advisory for the state.
A development dispute in his final days
Hours before the shooting, Rivas Ríos visited Morelos's Administrative Justice Tribunal to press magistrate Manuel García Quintanar about authorizations granted to Portenta Alto Verde for the La Cazahuatera real estate development, according to Excélsior and El País. Excélsior reported that he said he had testimony alleging municipal officials had received apartments from the developer.
The tribunal visit followed an October 30 march he led against the planned Altoverde project on environmentally sensitive land. Proceso reported that the project, promoted by Portenta Hábitat at La Cazahuatera in Cuernavaca's Flores Magón neighborhood, calls for six towers of up to 15 stories on nearly five hectares of low deciduous forest with about 1,600 native trees.
The available information does not establish a connection between the march and the shooting.
Decades of activism and public office
Known locally as "the people's councilman", Rivas Ríos was a founding member of Morena in Morelos. Morena, founded by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is Mexico's ruling party. Rivas Ríos frequently challenged Cuernavaca's administration over water service, electricity costs and urban upkeep.
He began his council term in January 2025 and chaired the municipal commissions on Human Rights, Municipal Patrimony, and Attention to Persons with Disabilities until his death, according to El País.
His involvement in social movements dated to 1972, when he worked for carpet manufacturer Nobilis Lex and joined a movement to democratize its union, Proceso reported. He was elected to the state legislature in 1994 for the PRD, the Party of the Democratic Revolution.
Rivas Ríos also founded the Asociación Cívica Morelense. In 2016, the organization adopted the name of Gustavo Salgado Delgado, an environmentalist and human-rights defender abducted and killed in Ciudad Ayala on February 3, 2015. According to Excélsior, Rivas Ríos is the second leader of the group to be assassinated.
Earlier attacks on political figures
Morelos had already lost another elected official this year. On July 22, 2026, Temoac Mayor Valentín Lavín Romero was shot dead inside the municipal building. El País reported that he had survived a January attack while traveling on the Mexico-Oaxaca highway and requested leave after that first shooting.
In a tally dated July 24, El País reported that 13 mayors had been killed violently during President Claudia Sheinbaum's term, which began October 1, 2024. The total included three deaths in 2024, seven in 2025 and three in 2026. The newspaper said the toll exceeded those of some complete previous administrations; Oaxaca accounted for the largest number, with five cases.
A separate El Universal count published July 13 recorded at least 33 violent incidents targeting political figures across five states during 2026, with 28 people killed. Guerrero accounted for 17 attacks and 15 deaths, Oaxaca for 10 incidents and seven killings, and Morelos for three attacks and four deaths. Those figures predate Rivas Ríos's killing.
Supporters plan a rally
After the killing, the Asociación Cívica Morelense Gustavo Salgado Delgado called on supporters to gather in Cuernavaca's zócalo to demand justice, according to Proceso. The rally was scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thursday, November 5, 2026.
