When asked about the security situation, the president said that he had received a country that had been abandoned in terms of security.
“I think that there has been progress. We have been faced with a situation of neglect, at least two six-year terms of neglect in the absence of attention to the causes of violence,” he commented.
During his administration, he recalled, the National Guard was created, which already has 130,000 members trained to deal with insecurity. He also highlighted that he personally addressed the situation of violence in a daily public security meeting.
“Perseverance, agreements, and daily cabinet meetings led by the president with all members of the security cabinet helped a lot. That helps a lot in making decisions,” he said.
He said that another of his advances was that there was no collusion between the authorities and criminals, as, he added, happened during the government of Felipe Calderón, whose Secretary of Public Security, Genaro García Luna, is in prison in the United States, awaiting sentencing for crimes related to drug trafficking.
“Drawing the line that criminal association between authorities and criminals is not permitted, that the border is very clearly defined, which was not the case with Calderón, there was a kind of narco-state, a narco-government. Imagine García Luna managing security: in whose hands were we?” he asked.
He stressed that his administration had made progress in terms of security, such as a 19% decrease in intentional homicides compared to his first year in office, as well as a 77% reduction in kidnappings.
