Crime in Mexico: Homicides increase by 52%

 Of the 29,182 accumulated homicides in 2020 are concentrated in six states of the country: Guanajuato, Baja California, the State of Mexico, Chihuahua, Jalisco, and Michoacán.

MEXICO CITY (Times Media Mexico/INEGI) – Only two months ago, López Obrador presented the figures that the INEGI released, which show that there was a decrease in homicides in the country during 2019 yet, last Friday, during the morning press conference from the National Palace, Ricardo Mejía, in charge of the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection (SSCP) office, presented the report on the incidence of crime with a cut-off date of October 31, 2020. The general conclusion was a reduction in crimes in the federal jurisdiction, except for organized crime.

Ricardo Mejía Berdeja, Undersecretary of Public Security and in charge of the head office of the SSPC, acknowledged that October saw an increase of 211 homicide victims nationwide compared to September. In general there is an average of 2,918 homicides per month.

However, only two months ago, last Thursday, September 24, the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, presented the figures that the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) released, which show that there was a decrease in homicides in the country during 2019.

López Obrador assured that progress is being made despite the complexity of the problem left by the “narcogovernments” however, his governement holds the record of the most violenece in the history of Mexico. 52% of the 29,182 homicides accumulated in 2020 are concentrated in six states: Guanajuato with 3,821, Baja California with 2,398, the State of Mexico 2,384, Chihuahua with 2,357, Jalisco with 2,181, and Michoacán with 2,011.

11 entities are above the average of 22.8 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Morelos, Guerrero, Quintana Roo, and Jalisco are, then, the most dangerous states in the country. In this area, the case of San Luis Potosí stands out, which has had a 52% increase in the homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants in October 2019. 

In 2019, 36,476 homicides were committed in the country. For the first time in the last five years, there had been an annual decrease in violent deaths, with 209 fewer murders recorded than in the previous year, according to preliminary data from INEGI.

In August, a total of 2,973 deaths due to intentional homicide were registered. In the same month of 2019, the figure was 2,953, according to the Executive Secretariat figures of the National System of Public Security (SESNSP). With these figures, some 95 intentional homicides were registered daily during August.

When comparing the number of intentional homicides in August to the previous month, the figure decreased by 0.46% since 2,987 deaths were reported in July for this crime. Last July, during the monthly report on Public Security, Secretary Alfonso Durazo reported that in the area of intentional homicide, the historical trend was -0.8%.

Concerning October 2019, the country had a 0.5% increase in the rate of women murdered per 100,000 inhabitants, which coincides with the stagnation in the homicide figures. 

In the cases of femicide, the figures also reveal a minimal variation. In October, Mexico recorded 76 women murdered because of their gender. The figure is in line with the annual average of 80 victims.

Concerning October 2019, the country had an increase of 0.5% in the rate of women murdered per 100 thousand inhabitants, which coincides with the stagnation in homicides.

At the entity level, the cases of the State of Mexico and Colima stand out. The first one, because in 2020, it has accumulated 119 victims of feminicide. The head of the SSPC tried to soften the figure to remind that the State of Mexico is the most populated. But in the rate of femicides per 100,000 inhabitants, the state is still above the national average of 1.23 with 1.34 femicides. It is in this area that Colima stands out.

The state of the Pacific registered 3.55 femicides per 100,000 inhabitants: the highest rate in the country, which represents an annual increase of 97%. Other states that have become more dangerous for women are Nayarit, which recorded a 171% increase in this statistic, Yucatan, with 97.7%, and Baja California Sur, with 95.8%.