An Epic Exchange that Writes a New Chapter in the History of Mexico
In the heart of a nation thirsty for tranquility, a silent but monumental battle was fought. Not with bombs, but with hope; not with threats, but with opportunities. The Secretary of the Interior, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, stood as herald of news that resonated like a thunderclap of optimism: from October 2024 to December 2025, an army of 9,081 instruments of violence were voluntarily surrendered, exchanged for a better future under the banner of the Yes to Disarmament, Yes to Peace strategy. This federal crusade, a daring commitment to attack the very roots of the conflict, achieved what seemed impossible: converting lethal metal into seeds of concord.
Behind the cold statistics lay a powerful narrative: of that total, 2,642 were long weapons, ghosts of past conflicts; 5 thousand 297, short weapons, silent witnesses of daily tragedies; and 1,142 grenades, along with cartridges and magazines, whose destructive power was neutralized forever. This titanic undertaking was not the work of a single hero, but of a sacred alliance between the Secretary of National Defense and the Catholic Church, weaving a bridge between authority and faith to heal deep wounds.
The Offensive in the Territories where Hope Was a Luxury
By presidential mandate, the mission focused with surgical precision on 61 priority municipalities, spread across 12 states. There, the strategy was not satisfied with receiving weapons; launched an invasion of light with community, preventive actions and reconstruction of the social fabric. In Tijuana, Baja California, the figure of 126,729 services is not a number, but a mosaic of lives touched: home visits in 33 neighborhoods, 30 peace fairs that were festivals of rebirth, the formation of 21 peace committees and the reconquest of 54 public spaces that previously belonged to the fear.
The south of the country wrote its own epic. In Chiapas, in municipalities such as Amatenango de la Frontera and San Cristóbal de las Casas, 120,909 services were provided through 73 peace fairs and 79 community assemblies. Meanwhile, on the northern border, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, scored a victory of 136 thousand attentions and the creation of 43 peace committees, demonstrating that the transformation knows no geographical limits.
The Impact: Where the Streets Recovered Their Laughter
The phenomenon was unstoppable. In Colima and Manzanillo, more than 22 thousand services set the tone. The State of Mexico, in strongholds such as Ecatepec and Nezahualcóyotl, witnessed an astonishing record of 317,351 services. But it was in Guanajuato where the epic reached its zenith: 463 thousand services, 99 peace fairs, 72 committees and 45 public spaces recovered in cities like Celaya and León. Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, Sonora and Tabasco added their own legends to this chronicle of redemption.
The coordination with the Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (Sedatu) materialized the dream in concrete and steel, promoting 14 community infrastructure projects: development centers, parks and fields that were erected as monuments to the new era. At the same time, 7 thousand days for peace brought together more than 900 thousand young people throughout the country, while programs like Ponte Pila reached 1.4 million young souls, sowing in them the antidote to hopelessness.
Rodríguez’s voice, full of the solemnity of someone who sees the birth of a dawn, resonated with an unbreakable promise: “We will continue working in a coordinated and grateful manner with the neighbors and public servants of all agencies in addressing the causes that generate violence.” It was not a closing, but the prologue to the next chapter. The battle for peace is a constant war, but every weapon exchanged, every space recovered, every young person involved, is an irrevocable victory in the soul of the nation. The road is long, but for the first time, the destination seems written in the ink of hope.
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