Homicides increased 7.7% in October compared to September and Mexico remains on track to record its most violent year on record, according to data presented by the federal government on Thursday.

There were 2,944 homicides last month, 211 more than in September.

Data presented by Deputy Security Minister Ricardo Mejía at President López Obrador’s regular news conference also showed that there were 29,182 homicides in the first 10 months of 2020, a 1.1% increase compared to the same period of 2019, which was the most violent year on record.

Although 2020 is likely to become the most violent year in recent history, Méjia claimed that the government has stopped the “exponential growth” in homicides that began in 2015, asserting that a “containment line” has been established.

Mejía said that 52% of the homicides occurred in just six states. In descending order from the most violent, they are Guanajuato, Baja California, México state, Chihuahua, Jalisco and Michoacán.

Just under 29% occurred in 15 municipalities.

They were Tijuana, Baja California; Juárez, Chihuahua; León, Guanajuato; Celaya, Guanajuato; Culiacán, Sinaloa; Cajeme, Sonora; Zamora, Michoacán; Guadalajara, Jalisco; Acapulco, Guerrero; Chihuahua city; Benito Juárez, Quintana Roo; Irapuato, Guanajuato; Ensenada, Baja California; Salamanca, Guanajuato; and Morelia, Michoacán.

Mejía noted that some states have recorded fewer than one homicide per day this year including Yucatán, Campeche and Tlaxcala. Those three states have recorded fewer than 100 homicides so far this year.

Femicides – the killing of women and girls on account of their gender – declined slightly in October to 76 from 79 the month before.

There were 801 femicides in the first 10 months of the year, an increase of 1.5% compared to the same period of 2019.

Mejía said that México state, the country’s most populous state, leads the country for femicides with 119 between January and October. Veracruz, Mexico City and Nuevo León follow, with 73, 64 and 57 femicides, respectively.

Mejía also said that reported incidents of domestic violence increased 3.4% in the first 10 months.

López Obrador acknowledged that the government has struggled to contain violence in Guanajuato, where the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel are engaged in a turf war.

“Criminal groups were allowed to establish themselves [in the state]. If there wasn’t collusion [with past governments] … the problem was [at least] not attended to and it grew a lot from below, from the neighborhoods and municipalities,” he said.

“So confronting [the problem] is taking time, it’s taking a lot of work but we’re dedicated to it. It’s the state with the most homicides, 12% of the national … [total]. We’ve achieved a reduction but we’re going to continue [combatting violence] and we’re going to continue insisting that there mustn’t be criminal association between authorities and gangs.”

Source: Reforma (sp), El Financiero (sp)