🔗 Share this article Daily Homicides in the nation Decline Over a Third In Claudia Sheinbaum, According to Government Statistics The mean count of everyday killings each month in Mexico has decreased by thirty-seven percent since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, as stated by new government data. Nevertheless, public safety experts have warned that murder data could fail to point to improved national stability. Notable Drop in Per-Day Averages Officials reported an mean of almost 55 homicides a day in last November compared with nearly 87 when Sheinbaum assumed the presidency in September of last year. This data was shared by the chief of the country’s federal safety agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's regular press briefing on a recent Tuesday. “The figures in killings that have been recorded during these past months is remarkably notable,” Claudia Sheinbaum said, adding that the previous month the least amount of murders were documented for any November in the last 10 years. Historical Context and Official Strategy Violent drug cartel rivalries, combined with the administration's heavily militarised operations to take on the trafficking organizations, have caused Mexico’s murder numbers soar in the past few years. The figure hit a maximum of 36,773 homicides in 2020, as reported by the nation's national statistics agency. That gave Mexico a homicide figure over four times greater than the United States. However, homicides have been on the downward trend, falling to 33,550 in the last calendar year. The President has attributed her national security plan for an apparently steeper decline in homicides this year. At a news briefing in the summer, the head of state declared: “We have a strategy, we have monitoring of the strategy, and there is detailed tracking town by town in certain cases. The plan is effective. And we have to continue working at it every day.” The main pillars of the President's safety strategy encompass: Bolstering Mexico’s domestic security force. Enhancing intelligence and investigation capabilities. Enhanced cooperation between government agencies. Expert Caution and Data Concerns However, public safety experts warned that focusing solely on homicide data to paint a picture of improved security was misleading. This is particularly true considering the increase in other crimes such as people going missing. “That would be positive news if this was a decrease, but I think we shouldn't just concentrate on the homicide numbers and think: ‘Alright, great,’” stated Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an expert on Mexican cartels. “I would be tentatively positive.” As reported by the policy research thinktank Mexico Evalúa, killings in total declined by more than 20% in the initial 10 months of the current year relative to the identical period the previous year. But, disappearances have gone up by 15% and in some states have surged by up to 200%. “Numbers on murders is no longer useful for estimating the reality of public insecurity,” stated Armando Vargas, a security analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “First, we have law enforcement and investigators who lack the resources or the will to properly recognize and classify remains. Secondly, organised [criminals] … have the means to mask violence through abductions.” Vargas pointed out that relying on month-to-month averages of everyday killings was additionally problematic because it might obscure days when there were notably high levels of killings. “Using the per-day mean renders surges of violent crime unseen,” he concluded. Detentions and Confiscations as Measures of Success Where the government can point to the success of its safety strategy is on detentions and confiscations. Close to 40,000 people were detained between last October and this past November for serious offenses, per government data. More than 20,000 weapons were taken and 311 tonnes of drugs confiscated. “The former US president can't accuse President Sheinbaum of inaction, because the reality is she is doing a lot with these thousands of arrests, many thousands of confiscations, and all the tactical degrading of organised crime. It’s extremely in political terms beneficial,” commented Vargas. Ongoing Violence and Societal Frustration Yet despite these actions, Mexico is still plagued by high bloodshed, with a number of regions in the midst of cartel-related conflict. In the previous month there was a prominent murder of a well-liked mayor in the region of Michoacan, one of 10 mayors assassinated in the past 12 months. Weeks later, thousands of protesters demonstrated in Mexico City and throughout the nation to voice their anger at graft and drug violence. “The government presents [data] in a manner to construct a picture of security. Politically it’s extremely successful, from a social perspective it’s very questionable,” Vargas said.
The mean count of everyday killings each month in Mexico has decreased by thirty-seven percent since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, as stated by new government data. Nevertheless, public safety experts have warned that murder data could fail to point to improved national stability. Notable Drop in Per-Day Averages Officials reported an mean of almost 55 homicides a day in last November compared with nearly 87 when Sheinbaum assumed the presidency in September of last year. This data was shared by the chief of the country’s federal safety agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's regular press briefing on a recent Tuesday. “The figures in killings that have been recorded during these past months is remarkably notable,” Claudia Sheinbaum said, adding that the previous month the least amount of murders were documented for any November in the last 10 years. Historical Context and Official Strategy Violent drug cartel rivalries, combined with the administration's heavily militarised operations to take on the trafficking organizations, have caused Mexico’s murder numbers soar in the past few years. The figure hit a maximum of 36,773 homicides in 2020, as reported by the nation's national statistics agency. That gave Mexico a homicide figure over four times greater than the United States. However, homicides have been on the downward trend, falling to 33,550 in the last calendar year. The President has attributed her national security plan for an apparently steeper decline in homicides this year. At a news briefing in the summer, the head of state declared: “We have a strategy, we have monitoring of the strategy, and there is detailed tracking town by town in certain cases. The plan is effective. And we have to continue working at it every day.” The main pillars of the President's safety strategy encompass: Bolstering Mexico’s domestic security force. Enhancing intelligence and investigation capabilities. Enhanced cooperation between government agencies. Expert Caution and Data Concerns However, public safety experts warned that focusing solely on homicide data to paint a picture of improved security was misleading. This is particularly true considering the increase in other crimes such as people going missing. “That would be positive news if this was a decrease, but I think we shouldn't just concentrate on the homicide numbers and think: ‘Alright, great,’” stated Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an expert on Mexican cartels. “I would be tentatively positive.” As reported by the policy research thinktank Mexico Evalúa, killings in total declined by more than 20% in the initial 10 months of the current year relative to the identical period the previous year. But, disappearances have gone up by 15% and in some states have surged by up to 200%. “Numbers on murders is no longer useful for estimating the reality of public insecurity,” stated Armando Vargas, a security analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “First, we have law enforcement and investigators who lack the resources or the will to properly recognize and classify remains. Secondly, organised [criminals] … have the means to mask violence through abductions.” Vargas pointed out that relying on month-to-month averages of everyday killings was additionally problematic because it might obscure days when there were notably high levels of killings. “Using the per-day mean renders surges of violent crime unseen,” he concluded. Detentions and Confiscations as Measures of Success Where the government can point to the success of its safety strategy is on detentions and confiscations. Close to 40,000 people were detained between last October and this past November for serious offenses, per government data. More than 20,000 weapons were taken and 311 tonnes of drugs confiscated. “The former US president can't accuse President Sheinbaum of inaction, because the reality is she is doing a lot with these thousands of arrests, many thousands of confiscations, and all the tactical degrading of organised crime. It’s extremely in political terms beneficial,” commented Vargas. Ongoing Violence and Societal Frustration Yet despite these actions, Mexico is still plagued by high bloodshed, with a number of regions in the midst of cartel-related conflict. In the previous month there was a prominent murder of a well-liked mayor in the region of Michoacan, one of 10 mayors assassinated in the past 12 months. Weeks later, thousands of protesters demonstrated in Mexico City and throughout the nation to voice their anger at graft and drug violence. “The government presents [data] in a manner to construct a picture of security. Politically it’s extremely successful, from a social perspective it’s very questionable,” Vargas said.