Guanajuato and Zacatecas, red flags in homicides

Last year, 34,173 people were victims of homicide in the country —94 daily murders, on average—, a figure 7% lower than the 36,553 violent deaths registered in 2020, reveals the “Atlas de Homicide: México 2021”.

According to the report prepared by the civil organization Mexico United Against Crime (MUCD) based on figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), 45% of the homicides that occurred in 2021 (15,301) were concentrated in Guanajuato (3,899 ), State of Mexico (3,084), Baja California (3,055), Chihuahua (2,635) and Michoacán (2,628).

Along with Baja California and Michoacán, the entities that presented historical maximums in the number of murders were Sonora (1,903), Zacatecas (1,681) and Morelos (1,140).

Presented in the Chamber of Senators at an event organized by the senator without a political party, Emilio Álvarez Icaza, the document states that for four consecutive years Guanajuato has been the most violent entity in the country and that Zacatecas stood out as the state that experienced the greatest increase in homicides with 40% compared to 2020.

Figures per 100,000 inhabitants

The evaluation of the risk that people have of being victims of homicide in their federal entity by population size (rate per 100,000 inhabitants), the five entities with the highest rates were Zacatecas (100), Baja California (83), Chihuahua (69), Guanajuato (62) and Colima (62) against a rate of 26 at the national level.

Of the 2,469 municipalities in the country, five accounted for 17% of all lethal violence: Tijuana, Juárez, León, Cajeme and Fresnillo.

Of the total number of male victims (30,019), 72% were killed with a firearm; in the case of women (3,280) the proportion is 59 percent.

On the other hand, the percentage of female victims through injuries due to the use of bodily force (15%) was double that in the case of men (7%).

Although both groups were mostly killed on public roads (54% of men and 39% of women), women were twice as often killed in homes (25%) than men (12%).

Although the average age of male (35 years) and female (34 years) victims is close, the Atlas reveals that the proportion of female victims under 15 years of age (4.3%) is almost five times higher than that of men of the same age (0.9%).

rolando.ramos@eleconomista.mx