Many members of the caravan say that the generosity of Mexican citizens helps them keep moving to their destination, the U.S. border still some 1,500 miles to the north.

The women seeking justice for vanished loved ones in Veracruz, Mexico, won the Notre Dame award for human rights. University President John I. Jenkins co-celebrated a Mass near the unmarked graves of drug war victims.

The 58-year-old priest and his small parish were caught in the middle of the fighting, ultimately becoming another target of government forces.

Mr. López Obrador’s political platform is decidedly secular and nationalistic. As president he intends to place a heavy emphasis on combating corruption, which he and his political allies believe to be the root cause of the criminal violence, poverty and inequality that plague the country.

Nicaragua’s political crisis is in its second month, and President Daniel Ortega’s soft authoritarianism has turned into violent repression.

At least 102 candidates and political workers have been murdered since September.

As consequential as the next Mexican election may be, the Catholic Church in Mexico has largely remained on the sidelines so far.

Opponents say that leftist firebrand Andrés Manuel López Obrador is Putin’s favored candidate; he is brushing off the accusations of Russian interference in Mexico.

Approximately 5,000 indigenous Tzotzil Mayans have been scattered in small refugee camps in the area surrounding the town of Chalchihuitán, in Mexico’s southernmost state of Chiapas. They say they were chased out of their homes by unknown gunmen after the escalation of an old land dispute.

A new law will formalize the military's role in fighting organized crime, but many would prefer strengthening Mexico’s poorly trained and underpaid police forces.