Mexico: Nearly 31,000 Homicides in 2022 – Down 7.1% YoY

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The Latin American country recorded an average of 85 homicides a day last year, compared to 91 in 2021, according to statistics presented by Security Minister Rosa Isela Rodriguez.

The number of homicides fell by 7.1% in 2022 compared to 2021 in Mexico, reaching 30,968 (up from 33,350), the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced on Tuesday.

The Latin American country recorded an average of 85 homicides a day last year, compared to 91 in 2021, according to statistics presented by Security Minister Rosa Isela Rodriguez.

48.6% of these homicides were committed in six of Mexico’s 32 states, Ms. Rodriguez pointed out.

The state of Guanajuato (central and northern) was the one that experienced the most acute problem, with 3,260 homicides in 2022, the minister said, speaking during the daily press conference given by President López Obrador.

However, Guanajuato also recorded a drop in the number of recorded murders compared to 2021 (–7.1%), according to the same.

Guanajuato is a theater of conflict between rival organized crime gangs, as are the other states where the homicide rate is high (Michoacan, Jalisco and especially its capital, Guadalajara).

In the heart of colonial Mexico, Guanajuato and its homonymous capital are both an industrial hub and a tourist destination.

The state of Mexico, in the capital region, is also among the six with the highest murder rates, but not the city itself.

2022 was the third consecutive year of a decrease in the number of homicides, after their peak in 2019 (34,718), said the government of Mr. López Obrador (nationalist left), who took power in December 2018.

The number of homicides took off during the days of former President Felipe Calderon (2006-2012), Ms. Rodríguez recalled.

Mr Calderon, of the PAN (right) party, launched a so-called “war” against drug traffickers in 2006, involving the army. Since then, some 340,000 murders, thousands of kidnappings and disappearances have been recorded, the vast majority of which the authorities attribute to organized crime.

RES-EMP

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