Ecatepec dresses up (with bulletproof vests)
Imagine this: an ordinary Saturday in Ecatepec, and suddenly, the neighbors’ usual soundscape—the dog barking, the horn of the bus—is interrupted by the synchronized roar of engines. No, it’s not the premiere of a new Netflix series about drug trafficking, it’s just Mayor Azucena Cisneros Coss giving an extreme update to the concept of “proximity patrolling.”
With the elegance of an influencer displaying his new merch, no more and no less than 250 elements from all imaginable forces were mobilized: Navy, Sedena, National Guard, state, municipal. Basically, the who’s who of the institutions that ask you for your papers. All to reinforce security in the Tulpetlac region, because apparently, the crime algorithm there was giving too intense recommendations.
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The meeting point was Security Sector 5 in the Margarita Maza neighborhood of Juárez. From there, a convoy of 30 patrols began a tour of the most emblematic neighborhoods in the area: Ampliación Tulpetlac, Xochitenco, El Ostor, Lomas de San Carlos and El Parque. It wasn’t a tourist tour, obviously, but if it’s about inhibiting crimes, then welcome to the show.
Commissioner Edgar Machado Peña, who must have the most badass resume in the municipality, stressed that this is not an isolated episode. It is the materialization of the Unified Eastern Zone Command, a kind of alliance of superheroes but with a tactical uniform and fewer capes. “The main purpose is to deter any illicit activity,” he said, in what could be the most honest slogan for an operation in recent history.
Meanwhile, Mayor Cisneros made a strategic stop at the Xochitenco Health Center of the IMSS. Nothing like a little social proximity between consultations. There, between the smell of disinfectant and the eternal wait, he stated that the final objective is “to vindicate the role of the municipal police.” In other words, change the perception that they only appear to give you a fine for parking incorrectly.
He recognized, with an honesty that almost hurts, that the biggest challenge is to reduce response times in the upper part of the mountains. Because it’s no use having an operation with a cool name if when you dial 911 you get a busy tone like in the nineties.
And of course, we couldn’t miss the shoutout to the bosses. The mayor recalled that both President Claudia Sheinbaum and Governor Delfina Gómez are involved in this effort to restore peace. A peace that, let’s be honest, in Ecatepec sometimes feels more like a mysterious secondary character than a reality.
So what do we have? A massive operation, an unprecedented alliance, and a citizenry that observes with skepticism mixed with a glimmer of hope. Because in today’s Mexico, security is not an issue, it is the issue. And seeing all the forces coordinated is as rare as seeing a unicorn crossing the Central de Abastos. Hopefully this is not just a special episode of a season, but the beginning of a new stable series. Time, and crime statistics, will tell.
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