Everyday Killings in the nation Decline Thirty-Seven Percent In President Sheinbaum, According to Government Figures

The average figure of per-day killings each month in the country has decreased by more than a third since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum took office, as stated by fresh official figures. Nevertheless, security experts have advised that homicide numbers could fail to point to improved national stability.

Significant Drop in Per-Day Figures

Officials reported an average of nearly 55 homicides a day in November as opposed to nearly 87 when the President began the leadership in September of last year. This information was delivered by the director of the country’s national safety agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's regular press briefing on a recent Tuesday.

“The figures in homicides that we’ve had in these months is extremely notable,” Claudia Sheinbaum stated, adding that the previous month the lowest amount of murders were recorded for any single November in the past 10 years.

Historical Context and Government Strategy

Intense organized crime rivalries, combined with the administration's highly military efforts to take on the trafficking organizations, have made Mexico’s homicide numbers escalate in recent times. The figure hit a record high of 36,773 homicides in 2020, as reported by the nation's official data office.

That resulted in Mexico a murder rate over four times higher than the US. From that point, murders have been on the decrease, dropping to 33,550 in the last calendar year. Sheinbaum has credited her public safety strategy for an apparently steeper drop in homicides this year.

At a media briefing in August, the Mexican leader declared: “There is a strategy, there is oversight of the strategy, and we have specific tracking municipality by municipality in some cases. The strategy works. And we have to continue working at it every day.”

The central pillars of the President's security plan include:

• Reinforcing Mexico’s national guard.
• Enhancing intelligence and investigation efforts.
• Increased coordination between government agencies.

Expert Skepticism and Statistical Limitations

However, public safety analysts warned that using murder statistics to draw a conclusion of peace was misleading. This is especially true considering the uptick in other crimes such as abductions.

“This would be very good information if this were a drop, but I think we must not just look at the murder numbers and think: ‘Well then, good,’” commented Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an expert on Mexican criminal organizations. “I would be cautiously positive.”

As reported by the public policy analysis thinktank Mexico Evalúa, killings overall declined by more than 20% in the initial 10 months of this year relative to the identical timeframe the previous year. But, missing persons cases have increased by 15% and in certain states have risen by up to 200%.

“Statistics on murders is no longer useful for assessing the situation of insecurity,” stated Armando Vargas, a security analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have police and investigators who lack the ability or the inclination to properly recognize and classify bodies. Secondly, organised [criminals] … have the capability to mask violent acts through disappearances.”

Vargas noted that relying on month-to-month averages of daily killings was similarly problematic because it may mask periods when there were notably high levels of killings.

“Using the daily mean renders high peaks of violent crime invisible,” he said.

Arrests and Seizures as Metrics of Progress

Where the administration can point to the effectiveness of its security plan is on detentions and seizures. Nearly 40,000 suspects were detained between October 2024 and this past November for major crimes, per government figures. More than 20,000 weapons were taken and 311 tonnes of narcotics intercepted.

“The former US president cannot claim President Sheinbaum of doing nothing, because actually she is accomplishing a lot with these many thousands of arrests, many thousands of confiscations, and all the operational degrading of organised crime. It’s extremely in political terms profitable,” commented Vargas.

Ongoing Violence and Public Frustration

However in spite of these measures, Mexico continues to be beset by extreme bloodshed, with a number of states in the grip of cartel-driven conflict. Last month there was a notable murder of a popular local official in the region of Michoacan, among 10 mayors killed in the last 12 months.

A short time later, many thousands of young people protested in the capital and throughout the country to show their anger at corruption and drug violence.

“The federal government shares [data] in a manner to construct a narrative of security. Politically it’s highly successful, socially it’s extremely questionable,” Vargas said.