Homicides declined slightly in May compared to both March and April, according to data presented Friday by Security Minister Alfonso Durazo.
There were 2,913 homicides last month, 116 fewer than March and 13 fewer than April.
Despite the decline in May – and the coronavirus lockdown measures over the past three months – Mexico remains on track to record its most violent year ever in 2020.
Data presented by Durazo showed that there were 14,631 homicides in the first five months of the year, an average of 2,926 per month. If the same trend continues, Mexico will end the year with more than 35,000 homicides.
With more than 1,900 between January and May, Guanajuato was the most violent state in the first five months. The next five most violent states, all of which recorded more than 1,000 homicides in the same period, were México state, Baja California, Chihuahua, Jalisco and Michoacán.
On a per capita basis, Colima was the most violent state, with almost 40 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the first five months of the year. Baja California and Guanajuato were the second and third most violent per capita, with rates just above 30.
Yucatán was the least violent state in the first five months, recording just 18 homicides.
Eight other states recorded fewer than 100 in the period: Baja California Sur, with 22; Campeche, 32; Aguascalientes, 39; Tlaxcala, 51; Durango, 68; Nayarit, 77; Querétaro, 84; and Coahuila, 95.
Femicides – the killing of women and girls on account of their gender – also declined slightly in May compared to the previous two months.
There were 69 femicides in May, eight fewer than March and four fewer than April. Compared to December 2018, the first month of President López Obrador’s six-year term, femicides were down 31% in May.
Data also showed that there were a total of 385 femicides in the first five months of 2020. México state recorded the highest number followed by Veracruz, Nuevo León and Mexico City.
Several large protests against gender violence were held earlier this year after the brutal murders of a seven-year-old girl and 25-year-old woman in Mexico City shocked the nation.
A national women’s strike was also held on March 9, a day after large numbers of women marched in cities across Mexico to mark International Women’s Day.
Source: El Financiero (sp)
