Everyday Murders in the nation Fall Over a Third During the Sheinbaum Administration, Per Government Figures
The typical figure of everyday killings monthly in the country has decreased by more than a third since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum took office, per fresh administrative data. Nevertheless, public safety specialists have cautioned that murder figures could fail to point to improved countrywide security.
Marked Decline in Per-Day Numbers
There was an mean of almost 55 murders a day in last November as opposed to almost 87 when the President began the leadership in September. This announcement was delivered by the director of the nation's federal safety agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's daily news conference on Tuesday.
“The result in murders that we’ve had in these months is extremely significant,” Sheinbaum said, explaining that last month the lowest figure of murders were documented for any November in the last decade.
Historical Background and Government Plan
Intense drug cartel infighting, coupled with the government’s highly militarised campaigns to combat the drug gangs, have made Mexico’s homicide rate escalate in the past few years. The rate hit a peak of 36,773 homicides in 2020, as reported by the nation's national statistics office.
That resulted in Mexico a homicide figure over 4x higher than the United States. From that point, killings have been on the decline, dropping to 33,550 last year. Sheinbaum has linked her public safety plan for an seemingly sharper reduction in killings in the current year.
At a press conference in the summer, the President said: “There is a plan, there is tracking of the strategy, and we have detailed monitoring municipality by municipality in certain cases. The plan is effective. And we have to continue working at it daily.”
The main pillars of Sheinbaum’s safety strategy involve:
- Strengthening Mexico’s national guard.
- Enhancing intelligence and investigative efforts.
- Increased cooperation between various agencies.
Expert Caution and Statistical Limitations
But, security analysts urged caution that focusing solely on homicide statistics to assess the situation of pacification was problematic. This is notably true in light of the increase in different crimes such as abductions.
“This would be very good information if this were a reduction, but I think we must not just look at the homicide numbers and think: ‘Oh well, good,’” stated Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an authority on Mexican cartels. “I would be guardedly positive.”
According to the public policy analysis organization Mexico Evalúa, killings in total dropped by more than 20% in the first 10 months of this year relative to the identical timeframe the previous year. However, disappearances have gone up by 15% and in certain regions have surged by as much as 200%.
“Data on murders is not valid for assessing the context of violence,” stated Armando Vargas, a security analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have law enforcement and investigators who do not have the capacity or the inclination to properly identify and categorize bodies. Second, organized [criminals] … have the means to mask violence through abductions.”
Vargas noted that relying on monthly averages of daily homicides was also problematic because it could hide periods when there were especially spiking numbers of killings.
“Employing the daily average renders spikes of violence invisible,” he said.
Arrests and Seizures as Measures of Success
An area where the administration can cite the success of its security plan is on detentions and confiscations. Nearly 40,000 suspects were arrested between October 2024 and this past November for high-impact crimes, per official data. More than 20,000 firearms were taken and 311 tons of drugs intercepted.
“The former US president cannot accuse President Sheinbaum of inaction, because in reality she is doing a lot with these thousands of arrests, thousands of seizures, and all the operational weakening of organised crime. It’s very in political terms profitable,” stated Vargas.
Ongoing Violence and Societal Frustration
However despite these actions, Mexico continues to be grappling with high violence, with several regions in the midst of cartel-driven conflict. In the previous month there was a prominent assassination of a well-liked mayor in the state of Michoacan, one of 10 mayors killed in the past 12 months.
A short time after, many thousands of protesters demonstrated in Mexico City and across the country to express their outrage at graft and narco-violence.
“The administration presents [data] in a manner to build a narrative of security. Politically it’s extremely effective, from a social perspective it’s extremely questionable,” the analyst remarked.