Everyday Homicides in the nation Fall Thirty-Seven Percent During Claudia Sheinbaum, According to Official Data

The average figure of everyday killings monthly in the country has decreased by more than a third since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, per recent administrative statistics. But, public safety analysts have advised that murder numbers may not indicate improved countrywide safety.

Notable Reduction in Per-Day Averages

Officials reported an mean of almost 55 killings a day in November as opposed to nearly 87 when Sheinbaum took the presidency in the previous September. This data was delivered by the chief of the country’s federal public security system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's regular press briefing on Tuesday.

“The result in homicides that have been recorded over these past months is very notable,” the President stated, explaining that last month the least amount of homicides were registered for any November in the last decade.

Recent Context and Official Strategy

Fierce organized crime rivalries, combined with the administration's heavily militarised campaigns to combat the trafficking organizations, have led to Mexico’s murder numbers rise sharply in recent years. The rate hit a peak of 36,773 homicides in 2020, per the nation's national statistics office.

That gave Mexico a homicide figure more than 4x higher than that of the United States. However, murders have been on the decrease, falling to 33,550 last year. The President has credited her national security plan for an apparently more pronounced reduction in killings this year.

At a media briefing in August, the Mexican leader declared: “There is a strategy, there is oversight of the plan, and we have detailed tracking town by town in some cases. The strategy works. And we have to keep working at it each day.”

The main pillars of the President's safety plan involve:

• Bolstering Mexico’s national guard.
• Enhancing intelligence and investigative work.
• Enhanced cooperation between government agencies.

Expert Skepticism and Statistical Limitations

But, public safety analysts warned that relying on murder statistics to assess the situation of peace was problematic. This is especially true given the uptick in other crimes such as forced disappearances.

“That would be excellent information if this were a drop, but I think we shouldn't just focus on the homicide numbers and say: ‘Oh well, good,’” commented Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an specialist on Mexican criminal organizations. “I would be guardedly hopeful.”

As reported by the policy research organization Mexico Evalúa, homicides in total fell by over 20% in the initial 10 months of this year versus the same period the previous year. But, disappearances have gone up by 15% and in certain states have risen by as much as 200%.

“Numbers on murders is no longer reliable for assessing the context of violence,” argued Armando Vargas, a safety analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “First, we have law enforcement and prosecutors who do not have the ability or the inclination to correctly identify and categorize bodies. Secondly, organised [criminals] … have the ability to mask violence through disappearances.”

Vargas added that using monthly means of everyday killings was additionally problematic because it could hide days when there were particularly spiking numbers of murders.

“Using the per-day average makes spikes of violent crime invisible,” he stated.

Detentions and Seizures as Measures of Progress

Where the administration can highlight the effectiveness of its safety plan is on arrests and seizures. Almost 40,000 suspects were arrested between last October and November 2025 for major offenses, according to government figures. More than 20,000 guns were seized and 311 tonnes of drugs intercepted.

“The former US president cannot claim President Sheinbaum of not acting, because actually she is accomplishing a lot with these many thousands of arrests, many thousands of seizures, and all the operational weakening of criminal groups. It’s extremely in political terms advantageous,” stated Vargas.

Persistent Unrest and Public Frustration

Yet in spite of these actions, Mexico remains plagued by high bloodshed, with a number of states in the grip of cartel-related bloodshed. Last month there was a high-profile killing of a well-liked local official in the state of Michoacan, one of 10 local leaders assassinated in the last year.

Weeks after, thousands of young people demonstrated in the capital and across the nation to show their frustration at graft and narco-violence.

“The administration frames [data] in a way to create a narrative of security. From a political standpoint it’s extremely successful, socially it’s extremely questionable,” the analyst concluded.