Daily Killings in the nation Fall 37% In President Sheinbaum, Per Official Figures

The typical figure of everyday killings per month in the country has fallen by thirty-seven percent since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, according to new administrative figures. But, public safety experts have cautioned that murder figures may not point to improved countrywide stability.

Notable Drop in Daily Averages

Officials reported an average of almost 55 killings a day in November as opposed to almost 87 when the President took the presidency in the previous September. This announcement was shared by the director of the nation's national public security system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s daily news conference on a recent Tuesday.

“The figures in killings that have been recorded during these months is extremely notable,” Claudia Sheinbaum said, adding that in November the lowest amount of homicides were recorded for any November in the past decade.

Recent Context and Official Plan

Intense cartel internal conflicts, alongside the government’s heavily militarised campaigns to take on the cartels, have made Mexico’s murder rate rise sharply in recent years. The rate reached a record high of 36,773 homicides in 2020, according to the country’s official data office.

That meant Mexico a homicide rate more than 4x greater than the United States. However, murders have been on the decline, declining to 33,550 last year. The President has attributed her public safety strategy for an seemingly steeper decline in homicides this year.

At a news briefing in the summer, the Mexican leader declared: “There is a strategy, we have tracking of the strategy, and there is detailed monitoring municipality by municipality in some cases. The plan is effective. And we have to continue working at it every day.”

The central elements of Sheinbaum’s security strategy involve:

• Reinforcing Mexico’s national guard.
• Improving information gathering and investigative work.
• Enhanced cooperation between government departments.

Analyst Warnings and Statistical Limitations

Nevertheless, security researchers cautioned that focusing solely on murder data to draw a conclusion of peace was flawed. This is especially true considering the uptick in different criminal activities such as forced disappearances.

“It would be excellent information if this were a decrease, but I think we shouldn't just look at the homicide numbers and say: ‘Alright, excellent,’” said Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an authority on Mexican criminal organizations. “I would be cautiously optimistic.”

As reported by the public policy analysis thinktank Mexico Evalúa, murders in total fell by more than 20% in the initial 10 months of the current year compared with the identical timeframe the previous year. But, missing persons cases have increased by 15% and in certain states have risen by as much as 200%.

“Statistics on murders is no longer useful for gauging the situation of public insecurity,” said Armando Vargas, a security expert at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have police and prosecutors who lack the ability or the inclination to correctly recognize and categorize corpses. Secondly, organised [criminals] … have the means to conceal violence through disappearances.”

Vargas noted that relying on monthly means of everyday killings was additionally an issue because it might mask days when there were especially high numbers of killings.

“Using the per-day average makes surges of violence invisible,” he concluded.

Arrests and Confiscations as Measures of Progress

Where the administration can cite the effectiveness of its safety plan is on arrests and confiscations. Nearly 40,000 suspects were apprehended between October 2024 and this past November for serious crimes, per government figures. Over 20,000 guns were confiscated and 311 tonnes of drugs intercepted.

“The former US president cannot accuse President Sheinbaum of inaction, because in reality she is accomplishing a lot with these thousands of detentions, thousands of seizures, and all the tactical weakening of criminal groups. It’s very in political terms advantageous,” stated Vargas.

Ongoing Violence and Societal Anger

Yet despite these measures, Mexico remains beset by high bloodshed, with several states in the throes of cartel-fueled bloodshed. In the previous month there was a notable assassination of a well-liked local official in the region of Michoacan, among 10 local leaders assassinated in the past 12 months.

Weeks later, thousands of youth demonstrated in the capital and throughout the nation to show their frustration at corruption and drug violence.

“The government shares [data] in a manner to construct a story of security. Politically it’s extremely successful, from a social perspective it’s highly problematic,” the analyst concluded.