🔗 Share this article Daily Murders in Mexico Decline 37% During President Sheinbaum, According to Official Figures The mean number of per-day murders per month in Mexico has fallen by thirty-seven percent since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum began her term, according to recent official statistics. But, security analysts have cautioned that homicide data may not point to better national safety. Notable Reduction in Per-Day Figures There was an average of nearly 55 killings a day in the month of November compared with roughly 87 when Sheinbaum took the presidential office in September of last year. This announcement was shared by the director of the nation's federal public security agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's daily press briefing on Tuesday. “The outcome in killings that have been recorded in these past months is very significant,” Sheinbaum stated, noting that in November the smallest figure of homicides were documented for any single November in the past decade. Recent Background and Government Strategy Violent organized crime rivalries, combined with the government’s heavily militarised campaigns to take on the trafficking organizations, have made Mexico’s homicide rate escalate in recent times. The figure peaked at a peak of 36,773 killings in 2020, per the country’s official data office. That resulted in Mexico a homicide figure more than four times greater than the United States. However, murders have been on the decline, falling to 33,550 last year. Claudia Sheinbaum has credited her national security plan for an seemingly steeper reduction in homicides this year. At a press conference in the summer, the President said: “There is a plan, there is tracking of the plan, and there is detailed monitoring locality by locality in certain cases. The strategy works. And we have to persist at it each day.” The key components of the President's safety plan encompass: Strengthening Mexico’s national guard. Enhancing information gathering and investigative efforts. Greater collaboration between government agencies. Analyst Skepticism and Data Limitations But, public safety analysts urged caution that using homicide numbers to assess the situation of peace was misleading. This is particularly true in light of the uptick in other crimes such as abductions. “This would be excellent news if this were a drop, but I think we can’t just concentrate on the murder data and think: ‘Oh well, great,’” commented Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an authority on Mexico's organised crime. “I would be guardedly positive.” As reported by the policy analysis thinktank Mexico Evalúa, murders overall dropped by over 20% in the first 10 months of the current year compared with the same period last year. However, disappearances have increased by 15% and in certain states have increased by up to 200%. “Statistics on homicides is not reliable for estimating the reality of violence,” said Armando Vargas, a security analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have law enforcement and investigators who do not have the resources or the desire to properly recognize and classify bodies. Secondly, organised [criminals] … have the ability to mask violence through disappearances.” Vargas noted that relying on monthly means of daily killings was similarly concerning because it could obscure periods when there were notably spiking numbers of killings. “Relying on the daily mean makes high peaks of violent crime invisible,” he stated. Detentions and Confiscations as Measures of Progress Where the administration can cite the success of its safety plan is on detentions and confiscations. Almost 40,000 people were apprehended between last October and this past November for high-impact offenses, per official data. Over 20,000 weapons were confiscated and 311 tonnes of narcotics seized. “Donald Trump can't claim President Sheinbaum of not acting, because actually she is accomplishing a lot with these thousands of arrests, thousands of confiscations, and all the tactical weakening of criminal groups. It’s highly in political terms beneficial,” stated Vargas. Persistent Unrest and Societal Frustration However in spite of these actions, Mexico continues to be grappling with high bloodshed, with multiple states in the throes of cartel-driven bloodshed. Last month there was a high-profile killing of a well-liked mayor in the state of Michoacan, one of 10 local leaders killed in the last 12 months. A short time after, many thousands of youth demonstrated in the capital and throughout the country to express their anger at graft and drug violence. “The federal government presents [data] in a way to build a picture of improvement. From a political standpoint it’s very potent, socially it’s extremely debatable,” Vargas concluded.
The mean number of per-day murders per month in Mexico has fallen by thirty-seven percent since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum began her term, according to recent official statistics. But, security analysts have cautioned that homicide data may not point to better national safety. Notable Reduction in Per-Day Figures There was an average of nearly 55 killings a day in the month of November compared with roughly 87 when Sheinbaum took the presidential office in September of last year. This announcement was shared by the director of the nation's federal public security agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's daily press briefing on Tuesday. “The outcome in killings that have been recorded in these past months is very significant,” Sheinbaum stated, noting that in November the smallest figure of homicides were documented for any single November in the past decade. Recent Background and Government Strategy Violent organized crime rivalries, combined with the government’s heavily militarised campaigns to take on the trafficking organizations, have made Mexico’s homicide rate escalate in recent times. The figure peaked at a peak of 36,773 killings in 2020, per the country’s official data office. That resulted in Mexico a homicide figure more than four times greater than the United States. However, murders have been on the decline, falling to 33,550 last year. Claudia Sheinbaum has credited her national security plan for an seemingly steeper reduction in homicides this year. At a press conference in the summer, the President said: “There is a plan, there is tracking of the plan, and there is detailed monitoring locality by locality in certain cases. The strategy works. And we have to persist at it each day.” The key components of the President's safety plan encompass: Strengthening Mexico’s national guard. Enhancing information gathering and investigative efforts. Greater collaboration between government agencies. Analyst Skepticism and Data Limitations But, public safety analysts urged caution that using homicide numbers to assess the situation of peace was misleading. This is particularly true in light of the uptick in other crimes such as abductions. “This would be excellent news if this were a drop, but I think we can’t just concentrate on the murder data and think: ‘Oh well, great,’” commented Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an authority on Mexico's organised crime. “I would be guardedly positive.” As reported by the policy analysis thinktank Mexico Evalúa, murders overall dropped by over 20% in the first 10 months of the current year compared with the same period last year. However, disappearances have increased by 15% and in certain states have increased by up to 200%. “Statistics on homicides is not reliable for estimating the reality of violence,” said Armando Vargas, a security analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have law enforcement and investigators who do not have the resources or the desire to properly recognize and classify bodies. Secondly, organised [criminals] … have the ability to mask violence through disappearances.” Vargas noted that relying on monthly means of daily killings was similarly concerning because it could obscure periods when there were notably spiking numbers of killings. “Relying on the daily mean makes high peaks of violent crime invisible,” he stated. Detentions and Confiscations as Measures of Progress Where the administration can cite the success of its safety plan is on detentions and confiscations. Almost 40,000 people were apprehended between last October and this past November for high-impact offenses, per official data. Over 20,000 weapons were confiscated and 311 tonnes of narcotics seized. “Donald Trump can't claim President Sheinbaum of not acting, because actually she is accomplishing a lot with these thousands of arrests, thousands of confiscations, and all the tactical weakening of criminal groups. It’s highly in political terms beneficial,” stated Vargas. Persistent Unrest and Societal Frustration However in spite of these actions, Mexico continues to be grappling with high bloodshed, with multiple states in the throes of cartel-driven bloodshed. Last month there was a high-profile killing of a well-liked mayor in the state of Michoacan, one of 10 local leaders killed in the last 12 months. A short time after, many thousands of youth demonstrated in the capital and throughout the country to express their anger at graft and drug violence. “The federal government presents [data] in a way to build a picture of improvement. From a political standpoint it’s very potent, socially it’s extremely debatable,” Vargas concluded.