Politics: High-profile killings spotlight Mexico’s worsening public security crisis
The country’s public security crisis is showing no signs of abating. The figures are alarming indeed, at around 3,000 murders, 1,500 missing persons and 80 femicides per month. Through the 41 months of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration, the number of intentional homicides reached 121,651, surpassing the 120,463 killings recorded during the entire 72 months Felipe Calderón was in office (2006-2012).
Organized crime has extended the scope of its activities, geographically and on both an economic and political level. On the economic level, organized crime has extended its scope by appropriating as much wealth as possible by exploiting multiple illegal markets (drugs, stolen fuel, piracy, human trafficking, arms smuggling, counterfeit medicines, wildlife), plundering the wealth of families and businesses (robbery, extortion, kidnapping) and more recently via cybercrime. All these crimes have massively increased in the past few years, along with their price tag for society, businesses, and households. And politically, organized crime and drug cartels are increasingly wielding their influence on a local and state level, even intervening in elections. Complementing their economic weight with political power opens up new business opportunities for them and helps them gain social legitimacy.
Criticism of the lack of any tangible progress has centered on AMLO's “hugs not bullets” strategy. The president’s insistence on a passive policy by public security forces has translated into tacit permission for criminal organizations to advance in their expanding fields of activity. At the same time, the government’s line has not resulted in a decline in violence on the part of organized crime.
The issue has come to a head with several recent high-profile cases, chief among them the killing of two Jesuit priests and a tour guide on June 20 in Chihuahua. Public reaction, including from the Catholic Church leadership, centered on a strong demand directed to the local and federal governments to review and modify their public security strategy and give priority to protecting the population.
However, AMLO will not contemplate anything of the sort. The president insists on maintaining his policy of avoiding open confrontations with organized crime and drug cartels despite the obvious negative results.
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