The podium of death: when being first is not a reason for pride
Ah, Sinaloa, the land of the sun, the sea and… oh surprise!, the leadership in homicides. The head of the SESNP, Marcela Figueroa, with the solemnity of someone announcing the winner of a Nobel Prize, reported that this state was crowned the undisputed champion in the murder ranking in June. What prize do they receive? Probably more federal operations and alarming headlines. Congratulations!
But don’t worry, Guanajuato was not left behind in this macabre race. With a respectable 8.7% of national homicides, it took the silver medal, closely followed by Baja California (8.2%). Of course, if we expand the panorama to the first half of 2025, Guanajuato came out on top: 12.6% of the national total. Is it the climate, the gastronomy or simply an inexplicable fondness for violence?
The mathematics of death: less is more?
Here comes the hilarious part (or tragic, depending on how you look at it): while Figueroa celebrates a 24.5% decrease in intentional homicides comparing September 2024 with June 2025, the absolute numbers are still something to cry about. We went from 869 daily murders to only 656. What a relief! Now only two people die every five minutes instead of three. Progress? Well, if the statistics say so…
And it doesn’t end there. The official, with the enthusiasm of an insurance salesperson, highlighted that high-impact crimes have decreased by 44.3% since 2018. Fantastic! Of course, except extortion, which seems to be the only “extreme sport” that is not losing popularity. But hey, feminicides dropped 24.2%, kidnappings 72.2%, and robberies with violence between 8.1% and 55.6%. What did they do well? Did they hand out manuals on “how to be a criminal but in moderation”?
“Other robberies with violence decreased 8.5%,” Figueroa concluded. How specific. Does that include stealing hearts? Because with these figures, the only romance that remains is that of Mexico with its eternal security crisis.
Moral? Statistics may paint a less bloody picture, but when Sinaloa and Guanajuato continue competing for first place in homicides, perhaps we should ask ourselves: are we really doing better or have we just learned to count bodies better?
Are you surprised by these numbers? Share this article and join the debate about what “moving forward” in security really means. Or better yet, explore more content to discover what other absurd records Mexico continues to break.
