Zacatecas, sample of decomposition of the social fabric

The growing violence in Zacatecas is a phenomenon that, beyond being the result of a conflict between criminal groups, is a sign of the lack of a social fabric, experts in the field emphasize.

For Nancy Angélica Canjura Luna, a researcher for the Causa en Común organization, it is necessary to understand that prior to the acts of extreme violence that have been observed in recent months in Zacatecas, the entity had been known to be a state with various social problems, among them migration for economic reasons, lack of opportunities, and investment that generated a “delicate” social situation, for which reason the lack of a social fabric fuels violence.

The security expert highlighted the lack of a strategy to contain violent acts since, she said, not only has it not worked, but it has been shown that the mere presence of security elements, such as the National Guard or police, as a A kind of act of deterrence against crimes has not worked, coupled with the fact that there is no frontal combat against crime.

“Impunity is the great engine of this violence, since murdering a person; to a police officer, a judge or a National Guard commander, it seems that there are no consequences, that it can be done with anonymity, impunity and no one will ever find those responsible”, he stressed.

dispute between criminals

Canjura Luna said that, being geographically located in a strategic part for the flow of drugs, Zacatecas is experiencing a dispute between the Jalisco Nueva Generación and Sinaloa cartels, which undoubtedly fuels homicidal violence.

However, he insisted that the entity not only suffers violence due to organized crime, but that it is also associated with the lack of rule of law, which adds to the mistrust in the authorities.

“Zacatecas is one of the states with the highest number of police officers killed, which is also a sign of institutional decomposition (…) while there are no actions to investigate either,” he said.

For his part, Dr. Rodrigo Peña, Executive Director of the Seminar on Violence and Peace at El Colegio de México, said that the violence in Zacatecas is the result of a mixture of factors, among which the inability of authorities to handle the violent acts.

Given this, he warned, the spiral of violence will be increasingly difficult to contain and drug blockades, the burning of trucks or businesses will be more frequent.

The expert added that a more focused intervention is required, with more sophisticated intelligence work.

fight in criminal

Last Sunday, a mass escape attempt at the Men’s Regional Center for Social Readaptation (Cerereso) in Cieneguillas, Zacatecas sparked confrontations between armed civilians against the authorities in three points in the state capital and nearby municipalities.

The maximum alert of corporations of the three levels of government was given minutes after 7:00 p.m. on Sunday.

In the city of Jerez, groups of armed people scattered ponchallantas at the exit to Zacatecas.

Adolfo Marín Marín, Secretary of Public Security of the state, reported that the blockades caused security elements to get hurt, without specifying figures and seriousness, while confirming that the actions were attempts to distract the authorities and that they did not attend to what was happening in the Cieneguillas prison.

maritza.perez@eleconomista.mx