Violence in Mexico Climbed Under President Pena Nieto in 2016, But 2017 May Be Worse Christopher Woody - Business Insider
go to original February 16, 2017

Mexico recorded the deadliest year of President Enrique Peña Nieto's four-year-old sexenio, or six-year term, in 2016.

The country saw a 22% increase in homicide cases, rising from 17,034 in 2015 to 20,789 in 2016.



Individual homicide cases can contain more than one victim, and data released by the government showed that the number of homicide victims jumped 22.8%, from 18,673 in 2015 to 22,932 last year.

Government data released each year since 1997 indicates that Peña Nieto's first four years have had 71,808 homicide cases opened, putting his term on pace to exceed his two predecessors' in terms of homicides.

Vicente Fox saw 74,389 homicide cases opened during his term from 2001 to 2006, while Felipe Calderon, who deployed troops around Mexico in the move that is credited with kicking off Mexico's cartel wars, recorded 104,794 homicide cases during his term from 2007 to 2012.



Recent reports by a Mexican nonprofit agency suggest that Mexican state governments, possibly at the direction of the federal government, have been manipulating the number of high- and low-level crimes they report. Such legerdemain may mean that the true number of violent deaths in Mexico is much higher.

Whatever the true number of homicides, government statistics indicate that they haven't accumulated at a consistent rate over the last decade.

...While the Mexican government's reported homicide rate was 17 per 100,000 people in 2016, recent data indicates that the country is middle of the pack in Latin America, where countries like Venezuela, El Salvador, and Honduras well exceed it in deadly violence.

Read the rest at Business Insider

Related: With Mexico Security Spending Slowing, Some Fear Ever-Worsening Murder Tally (Reuters)

Photo: Reuters

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