During the last two years, improvements in levels of peace in Mexico has remained stagnant, reaching a slight increase of 0.3 percent annually following a 6 percent increase in the homicide rate nationwide.
According to results of the 2016 Mexico Peace Index study, Guerrero is the least peaceful state in the country, in part for having the highest homicide rate; followed by Sinaloa, Morelos, Baja California and Baja California Sur, said Patricia de Obeso, coordinator for the Economics and Peace Institute, which is charged with developing the analysis.
“The most improved are Nayarit, Durango, Nuevo Leon, Chihuahua and Baja California, the state that has declined the most is Baja California Sur, which in 2011 was number 10 and now occupies 28th place, resulting from a tripled homicide rate. It is followed Zacatecas and Oaxaca, Querétaro and Guanajuato,” De Obeso said.
(Violence) results in a severe economic impact.” -Patricia de Obeso, Economics and Peace Institute coordinator
She added that Veracruz was ranked as the third most peaceful state in the country, with Hidalgo and Yucatán at the top the list, then followed by Tlaxcala and San Luis Potosí.
The study has been conducted since 2007 by the Economics and Peace Institute, the index based on the absence of violence in the state, analyzing seven indicators including homicides, violent crime or those committed with a firearm, detainees without trial, efficiency of the judicial system and state funding to police forces to control violence, of which results in a severe economic impact.
“In the last year this impact is calculated at 2.12 billion pesos, this is equivalent to 13 percent of the GDP, or 17,525 pesos per capita, that is, we are paying a tax for the security we are not seeing and not it has been reflected in lower rates of violence,” De Obeso said.
According to the National Survey of Urban Public Safety conducted by the INEGI in 11,400 households in the country, 69 percent of the population over 18 years old feel unsafe living in their city — mainly in cities like Villahermosa, Tabasco; Acapulco, Guerrero and Mexico City.
Public transport, banks, ATMs and lonely streets, are some of the places where people feel most unsafe, and only 25 percent of the population trusts the government to prevent and combat crime.