Spike in Mexico murder rate poses major test for embattled Pe帽a Nieto
The Mexican government had touted the effectiveness of its security initiatives. But homicides have climbed since January, with a particularly sharp spike in Mexico City.
The Mexican government had touted the effectiveness of its security initiatives. But homicides have climbed since January, with a particularly sharp spike in Mexico City.
The murder rate in Mexico grew this year for the first time since President Enrique Pe帽a Nieto took office in 2012, a stinging statistic for an administration that鈥檚 boasted about the success of its security policies in combating homicides.
Despite high profile cases like the disappearance of 43 teacher鈥檚 college students last year, which implicated elected officials, public security forces, and organized crime, murder rates had been trending down since the previous administration's war on drug cartels.
But since January, homicides have gone up 5 percent, reports The Wall Street Journal. And in Mexico City alone, the increase was 21 percent, climbing to 566 murders, on track for a rate of roughly 14 murders per 100,000 people. That poses a major challenge to the embattled Mexican president, the Journal reports:
August marked the fourth consecutive month that homicides grew here, the kind of 鈥渟treak鈥� the country hasn鈥檛 seen since 2010, writes security analyst Alejandro Hope in his daily newsletter Silver or Lead.
For Mr. Hope, this increase may have less to do with how the streets are patrolled, and more to do with Mexico鈥檚 struggling justice system.
Just over half of the Mexican population says the country isn鈥檛 safe, according to the most recent AmericasBarometer report, published in 2014. That has an impact on trust in the overall governing system, Elizabeth Zechmeister, director of LAPOP at Vanderbilt University, told 海角大神 late last year.
President Pe帽a Nieto鈥檚 approval ratings reflect this dissatisfaction. His approval has fallen dramatically, from 55 percent in August 2014 to 35 percent a year later, according to a Buendia&Laredo poll published earlier this month. And according to a recent Pew Research Center survey, approval is also low on "hot-button issues like the government's management of security (35 percent), the economy (34 percent), and聽education reform聽(43 percent)," 海角大神 reports.
In his state of the nation address earlier this month, Pe帽a Nieto recognized that violence, corruption, and Mexico鈥檚 economy were creating an environment of distrust among citizens, reports The Associated Press. He pledged that he would spend the last half of his administration combating corruption and crime.
"The last year has been a difficult one for Mexico," the president said in his speech. "Our country has been deeply wounded by a series of regrettable cases."