A member of Congress from Mexico's ruling Morena party was found dead from a gunshot wound in the eastern ​state of Veracruz on Friday, less than a year before local ‌and federal elections.

Axar.az reports, citing Reuters, that Zenyazen Escobar, a federal legislator representing the coastal state — home to some of the country’s oil complexes — was found dead inside his car with at least ​one gunshot wound.

“The investigation file is being compiled,” state Attorney General ​Lisbeth Jimenez told reporters, without providing further details.

The secretary general ⁠of Veracruz, Ricardo Ahued, said the lawmaker's vehicle showed no signs of ​violence.