President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s government has laid a “solid foundation” for incoming President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez said Tuesday.
Rodríguez made the remarks as he delivered his latest biweekly security report at López Obrador’s daily morning press conference. Before delivering the remarks, the security minister outlined what he described as “10 important changes” that have taken place during the current administration’s six-year term, or sexennium.
The changes, he said, “reveal that the way of governing in Mexico” over the past six years has had a “positive impact” on the country and its people.
Rodriguez, who became President Lopez Obrador's security minister in late 2020, will serve as interior minister in Claudia Sheinbaum's governmentwho will take office as Mexico's first female president on October 1.
Based on data from the national statistics agency INEGI, here are the “10 key changes” that Rodríguez outlined on Tuesday.
1. Poverty and crime decreased in most states
Rodríguez said that government data showed that crime rates and poverty level decreased in 27 of Mexico's 32 states between 2018 and 2022.
He said poverty was increasing in Tlaxcala and the state of Mexico but crime was decreasing in both states.
In Coahuila, Yucatán and Nuevo León, poverty is decreasing but crime is increasing, Rodríguez said.
The Minister of Security highlighted that not a single Mexican federal entity recorded an increase in poverty and crime during the 2018–2022 period.
2. Robbery and extortion decreased
Citing INEGI data, Rodríguez noted that the national robbery and extortion rate fell by 12.7 points in the first half of 2024 compared to the first six months of 2018, when former president Enrique Peña Nieto was nearing the end of his term. sexennium.
The data he presented showed that at least one member of 25.9% of households fell victim to robbery and/or extortion during the first half of this year, down from 38.6% in the first six months of 2018.
3. Perception of insecurity decreases
Rodríguez highlighted that the percentage of people who believe the city they live in is unsafe decreased by 14.3 points in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the last quarter of 2018.
Latest National Survey of Urban Public Safety (ENSU) found that 59.4% of adults have safety concerns about the city they live indown from 73.7% in the last quarter of 2018.
Rodríguez said the downward trend in perceptions of insecurity over the past 22 quarters is “something that is practically unseen in any country in the world.”
4. Security expectations improve
Citing other ENSU findings, Rodríguez noted that in the second quarter of 2018, 68.3% of respondents believed that Mexico’s security situation would remain “as bad” or worsen over the next 12 months.
In the second quarter of this year, the figure was 50.5%, down 17.8 points over six years.
“This is [equal] “the lowest level in 43 quarters, along with the December 2018 level,” Rodríguez said.
5. National Guard was formed
“Despite being newly formed,” the National Guard “is identified” by nine out of 10 Mexicans, Rodríguez said.
“In the beginning, it was only three out of 10,” he said.
Citing INEGI data, Rodríguez said that 74% of Mexicans consider the National Guard to be an “effective” security force.
López Obrador inaugurates security forces inHe wants it placed under military control before he leaves office in less than two weeks.
6. Corruption in Mexico is decreasing
Rodríguez presented data showing that 25,394 out of every 100,000 people who completed government procedureor procedures, in 2023 experienced “corruption.”
The figure shows a 16.6% decrease compared to 2019.
“This means there were 5,062 fewer actions. [of corruption]”said Rodríguez.
7. Public perception of the frequency of corruption has decreased
Rodríguez also highlighted that the proportion of Mexicans who believe that corruption is common in their country will decrease by 8.8% between 2017 and 2023.
However, the percentage of people who believe that corruption often occurs remains high in the last year, namely 83.1%.
8. Citizens trust AMLO more than governors and mayors
Citing data from an INEGI survey conducted in March, Rodríguez noted that 53.5% of adults have a high level of confidence in López Obrador.
The figures for governors and mayors were 33.2% and 28.1% respectively.
9. The federal government is the most trusted authority
“The ninth change has also been achieved,” Rodríguez said before noting that a 2023 survey found that 59.1% of people trust the federal government. He highlighted that the figure had more than doubled compared to 2017.
Data presented by Rodríguez shows that 48.2% of the public expressed their trust in local governments in 2023, while the figure for regional governments was slightly higher, at 49.9%.
“The government institution that people trust most today is the Mexican government,” the security minister said.
“… We are talking about figures from INEGI, those are not our figures, those are INEGI figures,” he said.
10. Mexicans show greater trust in the government than Canadians, Britons, and Germans.
Presenting the 10th and final “significant change” that occurred during President López Obrador’s presidency, Rodríguez outlined the results of a OECD survey on trust in national governments.
“This graph shows that in 2023, 54% of Mexicans have high or fairly high confidence in their government,” he said.
Rodríguez noted that the percentage of Mexicans who have high levels of trust in their national government is well above the OECD average of 39%. He also highlighted that Mexico’s percentage is below only two countries – Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Citizens from 30 countries participated in the survey. The percentage of Mexicans who have high levels of trust in their government is higher than the percentages detected in 27 countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, France, South Korea, Norway, Chile, Italy and Spain.
Rodríguez stressed that the 10 changes he outlined were indicative of the “great progress” achieved by the “transformation movement led by President López Obrador” and provided “a solid basis for the new government of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum.”
“Mr. President, thank you. You have taught us a culture of peace, not a culture of war,” he added.
Sheinbaum, a political protégé of López Obrador, has promised to build a “second floor” of the president’s so-called fourth transformation.
He has expressed his support for almost all of the current government's projects, policies and initiatives, including a set of constitutional reform proposals that López Obrador sent to Congress in February.
Among the areas Sheinbaum will tackle as president are security, energy and the economy. He will also have to convince foreign companies that Mexico remains a good place to invest, despite Concerns on the law that had just been passed judicial reform and draft laws and other constitutional matters.
Mexico Daily News