According to the latest report from the Institute for Economy and Peace (IEP), Violence in Mexico cost the country 245 billion dollars last year, that is, the economic impact of insecurity is equivalent to 18.3% of GDP.
The report also highlights an increase in organized crime activities, such as extortion, drug dealing and trafficking of synthetic drugs such as fentanyl. The growing violence has been reflected in various sectors, including the police and political figures, with more than
It is important to highlight that over nine years, The economic impact of violence has seen improvements in some states, but a deterioration in others, resulting in an increasingly widening gap between more and less violent entities. States such as Colima, Oaxaca, Zacatecas, Guanajuato and Nuevo León have been especially hard hit, registering significant increases in economic costs.
In summary, The situation of violence in Mexico continues to be a significant challenge, with considerable socioeconomic repercussions. Effective and coordinated measures are necessary to address this problem comprehensively.
The analysis considered that the situation of peace and violence in Mexico improved between 2022 and 2023, as the homicide rate fell by 5.3%, marking the fourth consecutive year of improvement. However, homicides remain a major concern, with more than 30,500 victims last year. With 23 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, Mexico’s rate is the fourteenth worst in the world.
“Organized crime groups are increasingly engaging in extortion, drug dealing, and trafficking in synthetic opioids such as fentanyl to replace declining illicit marijuana and heroin markets in the United States,” the report says. The volume of fentanyl seizures on the border between Mexico and the United States increased by 900% between 2019 and 2023, the report says.
The organization also points out the high violence within the police and against citizens for political reasons, which has grown in the last three years. There were more than 170 murders of politicians, government officials and their relatives in 2023, the highest number on record. “Mexico’s police face extreme levels of violence… It is almost four times more deadly to be a police officer than to be a civilian,” the statement said. Since 2018, more than 2,600 police officers have been killed.
During the last nine years, The economic impact of violence has improved in 11 states, but has deteriorated in 21 states. This has led to the economic impact of violence being 13.6% higher in Mexico in 2023 than in 2015.
In 2023, 19 states in Mexico recorded a greater economic impact from violence compared to the previous year, in contrast to 13 that recorded a lower impact. Morelos experienced the largest percentage increase, with 14.5%, followed by Guerrero, with 13.9%. The increases in Morelos and Guerrero can be attributed to increases in their homicide rates starting in 2022.
Despite this, the deterioration of the economic impact in Mexico has been much greater in the states that were already originally less peaceful, which has led to an increase in the “economic impact gap” between the most peaceful and least peaceful states.
The “economic impact gap” in 2022 was the largest since the index’s inception and has since narrowed by three percentage points in 2023. The economic impact of violence in Mexico’s five least peaceful states has increased, on average, 73% since 2015. In contrast, the five most peaceful states have seen, on average, a 24% decrease in the economic impact of the violence.
Since 2015, 21 states have recorded deteriorations in the economic impact of violence, and the state average deteriorated by 52.4%. The deteriorations were mainly due to the increase in homicides and organized crime crimes. The five states that recorded the greatest percentage deteriorations in the economic cost of violence were Colima, Oaxaca, Zacatecas, Guanajuato and Nuevo León.
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