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Spanish – Last year was the most violent in Mexico’s history, and it happened under the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. So far, 2020, the second year of his administration, has seen an even higher homicide rate.
When López Obrador became president of Mexico, the government reported that in December 2018, there were 2,153 homicides, with a daily average of 79.7 cases. Six months later, from June 6 to 12 alone, 650 murders were recorded, according to the Security Report, and since September 1, 2019, the average has exceeded 100 homicides per day.
On April 20 this year, 114 homicides occurred in one day, but the peak of violence came on June 7 when Mexico reported 117 murders in a single day. If this number is sustained, 2020 will be enshrined as the most violent in Mexico’s history.
During the same period, homicide cases in Brazil fell
López Obrador assumed the presidency exactly one month before his Brazilian counterpart, and the difference is striking. In the first year of AMLO’s administration, Mexico already replaced Brazil as the country with the highest number of violent cities. Meanwhile, in Brazil, homicide cases were down by 22.6% in the first year of Jair Bolsonaro‘s administration. Overall, there were 7,000 fewer homicides in 2019 than in 2018.
Deaths of innocent people decreased while deaths of criminals increased.
The only statistic of violent deaths that increased in 2019 was that of criminals during armed confrontations with the police. In the case of Rio de Janeiro, it increased by 16.2%.
In the first eight months of 2019, there were 1,249 cases of people killed in criminal confrontations, while from January to August 2018, there were 1,075 cases.
In other words, The death of innocent people decreased while the death of criminals increased.
The opposite of what happened in Mexico, where, in response to the public outcry over the violence caused by drug trafficking, AMLO said, “the army is not used to repress the people.” The people asked, “Are the narco our people?” and the president nodded.
¿El narco es pueblo como dice el Presidente ?? #Seguridad pic.twitter.com/2wj6Kyoq1o
— CiudadanosEnRed (@ciudadanosenred) August 26, 2019
In fact, Mexico lost the opportunity to arrest the son of drug trafficker “El Chapo” Guzman after a confrontation with security forces.
The secretary of Public Safety and Protection said, “We decided to leave the house, without Guzman to try to avoid more violence in the area and preserve the lives of our staff, and recover calm in the city.”
Drug traffickers attack law enforcement
Attacks on law enforcement by drug cartels are constant. Even the head of the Mexico City police, Omar Garcia Harfuch, suffered an attempt on his life. He was shot three times in late June 2020. Two of his bodyguards were killed as well as a civilian woman who was on her way to work.
The responsibility for the attack was attributed to the New Generation Jalisco Cartel (CJNG), one of the most violent cartels in the world and one of the first in Mexico to use explosives on a large scale.
“They have been very aggressive from the outset and have gotten away with killing federal forces, including lots and lots of police in Guanajuato, and the shooting down of military helicopters,” Falko Ernst, an analyst with the non-governmental organization International Crisis Group, referring to CJNG told the BBC.
“This is a cost that we are now paying for years and years of continued, almost perfect impunity in Mexico,” he added.
Impunity perpetuates crime
In Mexico, 98.6% of crimes are not punished, and 93.6% are not even investigated, according to Miguel Ángel Gómez Jácome, communications coordinator for the civil association Impunidad Cero.
“Impunity in Mexico is widespread. One of our investigations showed that there is a 1.14 % probability of resolving a crime from the moment it is reported until there is a conviction. We are talking about 98.86% impunity,” Gomez Jacome told EFE.
The probability that an alleged offender will receive an adverse court ruling after being brought before a judge is less than 70%, according to the Impunidad Cero “Ranking of State Attorneys and Prosecutors 2018.”
Under López Obrador’s administration, the situation has worsened, and the figures show that criminals enjoy impunity and that even the security forces are unsafe.
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