A year ago, at the end of 2021, I wrote a column that I titled at that time “Security: outstanding debt” in this space, and I remember very well that, at that time, the levels of homicides recorded since 2019 had suffered an upward trend, closing with 34,690 cases, showing a minuscule downward trend in 2020 with 34,558 cases, evidencing rickety results in terms of security that was verified in 2021, with approximately 34,173 homicides.
It is no secret to anyone that beyond the military deployment, the construction of barracks, the attempt to create an elite police force, as was attempted with the National Guard, the almost 140,000 homicides accumulated in this six-year term are a clear reference to the lack of a strategy that does not end up delimiting clear objectives, beyond the discourse, at all levels -state, municipal and federal-. A few days ago, the Secretary of Public Security, Rosa Isela Rodríguez, was heard appearing in the Chamber of Deputies, alluding to the successes of the security strategy and emphatically stating that these results -which cannot be clearly defined-, It would have been thanks to the honesty of this government, and for not having colluded with organized crime groups, since they go after any criminal group, whoever it is. Unfortunately, the data tells us otherwise…
The discussion is not in honesty, honor or good wishes, clarifying that honesty is not a choice but an obligation of any public servant, but in the worrying data that the same administration shows. Between hugs not bullets, a militarization in which the powers of the federal forces are distributed among administration, construction, migration, management of ports, airports and customs, and what remains for security tasks, an almost non-existent police reconstruction, since the horizon is confused, since security is for citizens and it is fair, which seems non-existent in some areas of the country… How can we allude to a success in terms of security if there are territories where life is practically unlivable? Municipalities of some states, such as Zacatecas, Guerreo, Sonora, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, among others, are just some examples of the high levels of violence, where exile, economic losses or the alteration of the lives of its citizens it is normality. Yes, nobody said that this was easy, but after four years of government, no results have been seen in this matter, and this is a fact.
The reality in terms of security hurts us what hurts us, it is terrible. In Mexico, approximately 90 people die every day, between 10 and 11 women disappear, and the cases that manage to go to court are minimal. On the other hand, the figures for intentional homicides from 2018 to November 2022, registered by state and federal prosecutors, show a total of 139,510 homicides, which gives us an average of 34,500 people murdered each year. Added to this, the instability and insecurity that exists in some territories of the country is truly outrageous and unfair. The thing is very clear, we have been experiencing contingencies in this matter for almost 18 years and in this six-year term things have not improved.
It is so clear, when in a municipality, one has to put up with seeing preschool children learning songs to keep calm under their desks, because there are shootings a few meters from their school, shameless extortion in cities and highways, human remains in public spaces, clashes between criminal groups at any time of the day, blocking roads, assaulting… I wonder how can you live like this and for how long? How long will we continue to live in denial?
