Various types of extortion have been developed in Mexico, such as telephone threats or payment for floor rights; The latter was implemented and continues to be used by drug traffickers, as another of their methods to generate terror and obtain income.
Floor collection occurs when extortionists physically appear at a business to ask for an amount of money in exchange for protection, or to safeguard the physical integrity of the owner and be able to continue with their commercial activity.
Although its origins are varied, as an organized crime activity it is linked to Nazario Moreno Gonzálezalias “El Más Loco” or “San Nazario”, who began this model of extortion based on a “religious rhetoric” of justice as social redistribution.
The childhood of this criminal leader was marked by a lot of poverty and that is how he became obsessed with becoming a “social vigilante”, inspired by fictional figures like Kalimán, but using violent methods.
He began by rescuing a cow from a man who had just robbed a rancher. Nazario questioned him and since his answer did not satisfy him, He punished him by stripping him naked and marking a cross on his chest with a sword.as reported by Infobae México.
He then made him say 100 prayers before letting him go, but the thief died before finishing his penance and being able to seek help.
Nazario finally returned the cow to its owner but charged him a “tribute” for his intervention, consolidating a system in which any justice or protection in the territory had to be paid for.
“Saint Nazarius”
Moreno González first joined the Millennium Carteland later founded The Michoacan Familyproclaiming himself her spiritual leader, earning him the alias “Saint Nazario.”
The Michoacana Family emerged as a group with a strong ideological-religious component that justified the floor charge as an act of divine justice.
Nazario established mandatory quotas to all the inhabitants of the regions where the cartel maintained control, in order to consolidate its power throughout the territory by instilling fear. The floor charge would allow them to finance their operations, ensuring constant income.
Nazario structured this practice into three levels: Taxes on local farmers and producers, for the protection of their lands and crops; robberies of transporters and distributors, who depended on the routes they controlled, and extortion of merchants who operated in markets or towns under the rule of La Familia Michoacana.
Journalist Ioan Grillo is one of those who has explained how this floor collection model was replicated by other cartels as bloodthirsty as The Zetaswho also collected fees from human traffickers.
He Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), The Viagras and United Cartels They have also copied this activity, subjugating the residents of the regions they control, who are forced to close their businesses and even abandon their homes.
Michoacán is one of the states that has been most affected by the floor charge. Lemon and avocado production have been the hardest hit, causing the price of citrus to rise by more than 235%
In 2021 alone, more than 485 hectares of lemon crops were abandoned due to looting, threats and extortionaccording to Insight Crime. This deeply affects the Michoacan economy and has generated an agricultural crisis throughout Mexico.
Mexican states such as Tamaulipas, Chiapas and the State of Mexico have also been greatly affected by the floor charge, in their agricultural, commercial and transportation sectors. The social and economic impact of extortion in these activities is enormous.
In this way, the floor fee has become one of the main sources of income for the cartels, generating approximately 200,000 million pesos per year, according to data from former deputy and economist Mario Di Costanzo.
Keep reading:
– Limoneros in Michoacán stop activities due to the death of a businessman; ‘The Viagras’ threatened him.
– Now they are extorting schools: Criminals demand money from a primary school in Veracruz to avoid “accidents.”