🔗 Share this article Everyday Homicides in the nation Drop Thirty-Seven Percent Under the Sheinbaum Administration, Per Government Data The average count of daily murders each month in Mexico has dropped by 37% since President Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, as stated by fresh government statistics. Nevertheless, security experts have warned that homicide numbers may not signal enhanced countrywide safety. Significant Drop in Daily Numbers Officials reported an mean of close to 55 murders a day in the month of November as opposed to almost 87 when Sheinbaum assumed the leadership in the previous September. This data was delivered by the director of the country’s national public security system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's regular news conference on a recent Tuesday. “The outcome in killings that have been recorded during these past months is remarkably notable,” the President remarked, adding that last month the lowest number of murders were registered for any November in the last 10 years. Historical Background and Government Strategy Fierce organized crime internal conflicts, alongside the administration's highly military campaigns to combat the cartels, have made Mexico’s homicide rate escalate in recent times. The figure peaked at a maximum of 36,773 killings in 2020, per the nation's national statistics office. That meant Mexico a homicide rate over four times higher than the United States. From that point, murders have been on the downward trend, dropping to 33,550 last year. Claudia Sheinbaum has credited her national security approach for an seemingly steeper decline in killings in the current year. At a news briefing in August, the Mexican leader stated: “There is a strategy, there is tracking of the strategy, and we have specific tracking locality by locality in some cases. The approach works. And we have to persist at it every day.” The central pillars of the President's security plan involve: Reinforcing Mexico’s domestic security force. Enhancing information gathering and investigative efforts. Increased collaboration between various agencies. Expert Caution and Statistical Concerns But, security researchers urged caution that using murder statistics to draw a conclusion of pacification was problematic. This is especially true in light of the increase in different crimes such as people going missing. “This would be positive information if this was a reduction, but I think we shouldn't just look at the murder numbers and think: ‘Oh well, great,’” stated Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an specialist on Mexico's criminal organizations. “I would be cautiously optimistic.” According to the public policy analysis thinktank Mexico Evalúa, homicides overall declined by more than 20% in the initial 10 months of the current year versus the same timeframe last year. Yet, disappearances have gone up by 15% and in some regions have surged by up to 200%. “Statistics on homicides is no longer reliable for estimating the situation of insecurity,” said Armando Vargas, a security expert at Mexico Evalúa. “First, we have police and investigators who lack the ability or the inclination to correctly recognize and classify corpses. Secondly, organized [criminals] … have the means to hide violent acts through disappearances.” Vargas pointed out that relying on month-to-month averages of everyday killings was similarly concerning because it may obscure days when there were especially spiking levels of killings. “Relying on the daily average renders high peaks of violence less visible,” he concluded. Detentions and Confiscations as Measures of Progress An area where the administration can highlight the effectiveness of its safety plan is on arrests and confiscations. Nearly 40,000 people were detained between last October and this past November for high-impact offenses, per government figures. Over 20,000 guns were confiscated and 311 tonnes of drugs confiscated. “The former US president cannot accuse President Sheinbaum of inaction, because the reality is she is accomplishing a lot with these thousands of detentions, many thousands of seizures, and all the tactical degrading of organised crime. It’s very politically advantageous,” said Vargas. Persistent Unrest and Public Anger However despite these actions, Mexico is still beset by extreme violence, with a number of states in the grip of cartel-related conflict. Last month there was a high-profile assassination of a well-liked local official in the region of Michoacan, among 10 mayors assassinated in the last 12 months. A short time after, many thousands of protesters demonstrated in Mexico City and across the country to show their anger at graft and narco-violence. “The administration frames [data] in a way to create a picture of improvement. From a political standpoint it’s extremely effective, socially it’s extremely debatable,” Vargas concluded.
The average count of daily murders each month in Mexico has dropped by 37% since President Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, as stated by fresh government statistics. Nevertheless, security experts have warned that homicide numbers may not signal enhanced countrywide safety. Significant Drop in Daily Numbers Officials reported an mean of close to 55 murders a day in the month of November as opposed to almost 87 when Sheinbaum assumed the leadership in the previous September. This data was delivered by the director of the country’s national public security system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's regular news conference on a recent Tuesday. “The outcome in killings that have been recorded during these past months is remarkably notable,” the President remarked, adding that last month the lowest number of murders were registered for any November in the last 10 years. Historical Background and Government Strategy Fierce organized crime internal conflicts, alongside the administration's highly military campaigns to combat the cartels, have made Mexico’s homicide rate escalate in recent times. The figure peaked at a maximum of 36,773 killings in 2020, per the nation's national statistics office. That meant Mexico a homicide rate over four times higher than the United States. From that point, murders have been on the downward trend, dropping to 33,550 last year. Claudia Sheinbaum has credited her national security approach for an seemingly steeper decline in killings in the current year. At a news briefing in August, the Mexican leader stated: “There is a strategy, there is tracking of the strategy, and we have specific tracking locality by locality in some cases. The approach works. And we have to persist at it every day.” The central pillars of the President's security plan involve: Reinforcing Mexico’s domestic security force. Enhancing information gathering and investigative efforts. Increased collaboration between various agencies. Expert Caution and Statistical Concerns But, security researchers urged caution that using murder statistics to draw a conclusion of pacification was problematic. This is especially true in light of the increase in different crimes such as people going missing. “This would be positive information if this was a reduction, but I think we shouldn't just look at the murder numbers and think: ‘Oh well, great,’” stated Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an specialist on Mexico's criminal organizations. “I would be cautiously optimistic.” According to the public policy analysis thinktank Mexico Evalúa, homicides overall declined by more than 20% in the initial 10 months of the current year versus the same timeframe last year. Yet, disappearances have gone up by 15% and in some regions have surged by up to 200%. “Statistics on homicides is no longer reliable for estimating the situation of insecurity,” said Armando Vargas, a security expert at Mexico Evalúa. “First, we have police and investigators who lack the ability or the inclination to correctly recognize and classify corpses. Secondly, organized [criminals] … have the means to hide violent acts through disappearances.” Vargas pointed out that relying on month-to-month averages of everyday killings was similarly concerning because it may obscure days when there were especially spiking levels of killings. “Relying on the daily average renders high peaks of violence less visible,” he concluded. Detentions and Confiscations as Measures of Progress An area where the administration can highlight the effectiveness of its safety plan is on arrests and confiscations. Nearly 40,000 people were detained between last October and this past November for high-impact offenses, per government figures. Over 20,000 guns were confiscated and 311 tonnes of drugs confiscated. “The former US president cannot accuse President Sheinbaum of inaction, because the reality is she is accomplishing a lot with these thousands of detentions, many thousands of seizures, and all the tactical degrading of organised crime. It’s very politically advantageous,” said Vargas. Persistent Unrest and Public Anger However despite these actions, Mexico is still beset by extreme violence, with a number of states in the grip of cartel-related conflict. Last month there was a high-profile assassination of a well-liked local official in the region of Michoacan, among 10 mayors assassinated in the last 12 months. A short time after, many thousands of protesters demonstrated in Mexico City and across the country to show their anger at graft and narco-violence. “The administration frames [data] in a way to create a picture of improvement. From a political standpoint it’s extremely effective, socially it’s extremely debatable,” Vargas concluded.