Crime in Mexico

The governor's miraculous achievement

Sep 22nd 2011, 17:38 by T.W. | MEXICO CITY

IT IS the season of informes in Mexico, when the president and state governors deliver state-of-the-union-type reports on what they have been up to. This year Enrique Peña Nieto, the outgoing governor of Mexico state and the early front-runner in next year’s presidential election, used his September 5th informe to mark the unofficial launch of his presidential bid.

Prominent in his address was the stunning claim that the murder rate in Mexico state had fallen by more than half during his six-year term. “One of the most illustrative achievements that we have is the reduction in murders per 100,000 people, from 16.5 in 2005 to 7.6 in 2010,” he said (you can watch it here at about 1:05). This was particularly amazing given that the national murder rate more than doubled during the same period. Anyone doubting Mr Peña’s word could see the numbers for themselves in the print version of his informe (here, on page 222, under “homicidios dolosos”).

The claim is absolutely false.

Read the rest here