🔗 Share this article Daily Murders in the nation Decline 37% Under Claudia Sheinbaum, As per Government Statistics The typical figure of everyday murders each month in Mexico has dropped by more than a third since President Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, as stated by recent administrative statistics. But, security analysts have advised that murder figures might not indicate improved national stability. Significant Drop in Per-Day Numbers There was an mean of almost 55 homicides a day in November versus nearly 87 when the President took the leadership in September. This announcement was shared by the chief of the nation's national safety system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s regular press briefing on a recent Tuesday. “The result in homicides that we have seen over these months is very notable,” Claudia Sheinbaum stated, adding that in November the least amount of murders were registered for any November in the past 10 years. Recent Background and Official Strategy Intense cartel rivalries, alongside the government’s heavily military operations to take on the trafficking organizations, have led to Mexico’s murder numbers rise sharply in recent years. The rate reached a record high of 36,773 homicides in 2020, per the country’s official data office. That resulted in Mexico a murder rate more than four times greater than the United States. Since then, homicides have been on the decline, dropping to 33,550 last year. Sheinbaum has credited her national security approach for an apparently steeper decline in killings this year. At a media briefing in the summer, the President said: “There is a strategy, there is tracking of the strategy, and we have specific monitoring town by town in certain cases. The plan is effective. And we have to keep working at it each day.” The main components of the President's safety plan include: Reinforcing Mexico’s domestic security force. Enhancing information gathering and investigative efforts. Enhanced coordination between government agencies. Analyst Warnings and Data Limitations But, public safety experts warned that relying on murder statistics to paint a picture of pacification was problematic. This is notably true in light of the uptick in other criminal activities such as forced disappearances. “That would be excellent news if this were a reduction, but I think we must not just concentrate on the murder data and say: ‘Oh well, great,’” said Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an specialist on Mexican organised crime. “I would be tentatively hopeful.” As reported by the policy analysis organization Mexico Evalúa, murders in total fell by over 20% in the initial 10 months of the current year compared with the same timeframe the previous year. However, disappearances have gone up by 15% and in some states have risen by up to 200%. “Numbers on homicides is no longer reliable for gauging the situation of insecurity,” stated Armando Vargas, a safety expert at Mexico Evalúa. “First, we have law enforcement and prosecutors who do not have the resources or the will to accurately identify and classify bodies. Secondly, organized [criminals] … have the means to mask violent acts through abductions.” Vargas noted that relying on month-to-month averages of everyday killings was additionally concerning because it could mask days when there were especially elevated numbers of murders. “Employing the daily mean makes high peaks of violence less visible,” he concluded. Arrests and Seizures as Measures of Progress An area where the administration can point to the success of its security strategy is on detentions and seizures. Nearly 40,000 people were apprehended between last October and this past November for major crimes, per government data. Over 20,000 weapons were confiscated and 311 tons of narcotics confiscated. “Trump can't accuse President Sheinbaum of not acting, because actually she is accomplishing a lot with these thousands of detentions, thousands of seizures, and all the operational degrading of criminal groups. It’s very politically profitable,” stated Vargas. Persistent Violence and Societal Frustration Yet despite these efforts, Mexico continues to be beset by high bloodshed, with several regions in the midst of cartel-fueled conflict. In the previous month there was a prominent murder of a well-liked local official in the state of Michoacan, among 10 mayors assassinated in the last 12 months. A short time after, thousands of youth took to the streets in Mexico City and across the country to express their anger at corruption and narco-violence. “The government presents [data] in a manner to create a story of improvement. From a political standpoint it’s highly effective, from a social perspective it’s highly debatable,” the analyst concluded.
The typical figure of everyday murders each month in Mexico has dropped by more than a third since President Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, as stated by recent administrative statistics. But, security analysts have advised that murder figures might not indicate improved national stability. Significant Drop in Per-Day Numbers There was an mean of almost 55 homicides a day in November versus nearly 87 when the President took the leadership in September. This announcement was shared by the chief of the nation's national safety system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s regular press briefing on a recent Tuesday. “The result in homicides that we have seen over these months is very notable,” Claudia Sheinbaum stated, adding that in November the least amount of murders were registered for any November in the past 10 years. Recent Background and Official Strategy Intense cartel rivalries, alongside the government’s heavily military operations to take on the trafficking organizations, have led to Mexico’s murder numbers rise sharply in recent years. The rate reached a record high of 36,773 homicides in 2020, per the country’s official data office. That resulted in Mexico a murder rate more than four times greater than the United States. Since then, homicides have been on the decline, dropping to 33,550 last year. Sheinbaum has credited her national security approach for an apparently steeper decline in killings this year. At a media briefing in the summer, the President said: “There is a strategy, there is tracking of the strategy, and we have specific monitoring town by town in certain cases. The plan is effective. And we have to keep working at it each day.” The main components of the President's safety plan include: Reinforcing Mexico’s domestic security force. Enhancing information gathering and investigative efforts. Enhanced coordination between government agencies. Analyst Warnings and Data Limitations But, public safety experts warned that relying on murder statistics to paint a picture of pacification was problematic. This is notably true in light of the uptick in other criminal activities such as forced disappearances. “That would be excellent news if this were a reduction, but I think we must not just concentrate on the murder data and say: ‘Oh well, great,’” said Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an specialist on Mexican organised crime. “I would be tentatively hopeful.” As reported by the policy analysis organization Mexico Evalúa, murders in total fell by over 20% in the initial 10 months of the current year compared with the same timeframe the previous year. However, disappearances have gone up by 15% and in some states have risen by up to 200%. “Numbers on homicides is no longer reliable for gauging the situation of insecurity,” stated Armando Vargas, a safety expert at Mexico Evalúa. “First, we have law enforcement and prosecutors who do not have the resources or the will to accurately identify and classify bodies. Secondly, organized [criminals] … have the means to mask violent acts through abductions.” Vargas noted that relying on month-to-month averages of everyday killings was additionally concerning because it could mask days when there were especially elevated numbers of murders. “Employing the daily mean makes high peaks of violence less visible,” he concluded. Arrests and Seizures as Measures of Progress An area where the administration can point to the success of its security strategy is on detentions and seizures. Nearly 40,000 people were apprehended between last October and this past November for major crimes, per government data. Over 20,000 weapons were confiscated and 311 tons of narcotics confiscated. “Trump can't accuse President Sheinbaum of not acting, because actually she is accomplishing a lot with these thousands of detentions, thousands of seizures, and all the operational degrading of criminal groups. It’s very politically profitable,” stated Vargas. Persistent Violence and Societal Frustration Yet despite these efforts, Mexico continues to be beset by high bloodshed, with several regions in the midst of cartel-fueled conflict. In the previous month there was a prominent murder of a well-liked local official in the state of Michoacan, among 10 mayors assassinated in the last 12 months. A short time after, thousands of youth took to the streets in Mexico City and across the country to express their anger at corruption and narco-violence. “The government presents [data] in a manner to create a story of improvement. From a political standpoint it’s highly effective, from a social perspective it’s highly debatable,” the analyst concluded.