Daily Killings in the nation Drop 37% In President Sheinbaum, As per Official Data

The typical figure of everyday killings each month in the country has decreased by 37% since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, as stated by fresh government figures. Nevertheless, security specialists have advised that homicide data might not indicate better national safety.

Notable Reduction in Per-Day Numbers

Officials reported an mean of nearly 55 homicides a day in last November versus nearly 87 when Sheinbaum assumed the presidency in the previous September. This announcement was shared by the chief of the country’s federal public security system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s regular news conference on Tuesday.

“The outcome in murders that have been recorded during these past months is remarkably significant,” Sheinbaum remarked, adding that last month the least figure of murders were registered for any November in the last decade.

Historical Context and Government Plan

Intense drug cartel rivalries, coupled with the administration's heavily militarised efforts to confront the trafficking organizations, have caused Mexico’s murder rate soar in the past few years. The rate hit a record high of 36,773 killings in 2020, per the country’s official data agency.

That gave Mexico a murder figure over four times greater than the United States. From that point, homicides have been on the downward trend, falling to 33,550 the previous year. The President has attributed her public safety plan for an apparently more pronounced decline in homicides this year.

At a news briefing in August, the head of state said: “There is a plan, there is monitoring of the strategy, and we have detailed tracking town by town in certain cases. The approach works. And we have to keep working at it every day.”

The key pillars of the President's security plan encompass:

• Reinforcing Mexico’s federal guard.
• Advancing information gathering and investigation efforts.
• Enhanced cooperation between government departments.

Analyst Skepticism and Statistical Limitations

However, security experts cautioned that using murder data to draw a conclusion of pacification was problematic. This is notably true given the uptick in other criminal activities such as people going missing.

“This would be positive news if this was a drop, but I think we must not just concentrate on the homicide data and say: ‘Oh well, great,’” stated Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an expert on Mexico's cartels. “I would be guardedly optimistic.”

According to the policy research organization Mexico Evalúa, murders in total dropped by over 20% in the initial 10 months of this year relative to the identical timeframe last year. Yet, disappearances have increased by 15% and in certain states have risen by up to 200%.

“Data on murders is no longer useful for estimating the situation of public insecurity,” said Armando Vargas, a security expert at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have police and prosecutors who do not have the capacity or the inclination to accurately identify and categorize corpses. Secondly, organised [criminals] … have the ability to mask violence through disappearances.”

Vargas pointed out that using month-to-month averages of daily killings was additionally problematic because it may mask periods when there were particularly spiking levels of murders.

“Using the daily average renders high peaks of violence unseen,” he concluded.

Detentions and Seizures as Measures of Progress

An area where the administration can cite the success of its safety strategy is on detentions and confiscations. Close to 40,000 individuals were arrested between October 2024 and this past November for major offenses, per government data. More than 20,000 weapons were seized and 311 tonnes of drugs confiscated.

“Donald Trump cannot accuse President Sheinbaum of inaction, because actually she is accomplishing a lot with these many thousands of detentions, thousands of seizures, and all the operational degrading of organised crime. It’s extremely politically advantageous,” stated Vargas.

Ongoing Unrest and Public Frustration

However in spite of these actions, Mexico continues to be beset by severe bloodshed, with several states in the midst of cartel-fueled violence. In the previous month there was a high-profile murder of a well-liked local official in the state of Michoacan, among 10 mayors killed in the past 12 months.

A short time later, thousands of protesters took to the streets in the capital and throughout the country to voice their anger at graft and narco-violence.

“The federal government presents [data] in a way to create a picture of safety. From a political standpoint it’s very potent, socially it’s extremely problematic,” Vargas said.