The NarcoData Project on a Nation Under Siege: No State in Mexico Is Narco-Free Tania L. Montalvo - El Daily Post
go to original November 13, 2015

No state in Mexico has escaped being under the yolk of organized crime at one time or another. Not even the so-called “peaceful states” — Hidalgo, Yucatán, Querétaro — have been untouched.

That’s the verdict of an extensive report entitled “Índice de Paz del Instituto para la Economía y la Paz,” or the “Peace Index of the Economy and Peace Institute,” produced by the National Statistics Institute (INEGI) and the highly regard Center for Economic Research and Teaching, or CIDE.

Take Hidalgo, for example, just north of Mexico City. It occupies first place in the current “peace index,” but during the administration of Felipe Calderón, which ended toward the end of 2012, it was a territory of Los Zetas, one of the most murderous organized crime groups.



The same is true for the southeastern state of Yucatán and the central state of Querètaro, which borders Hidalgo. Both are high on the peace index, but back during the Vicente Fox presidency (2000-2006) they were occupied by the Sinaloa and Gulf Cartels, respectively.

In general, the southeast is considered the most peaceful region of Mexico. Besides Yucatán, it consists of the states of Tabasco, Quintana Roo, Chiapas, Campeche and the southern part of Veracruz.

But the reality is has not always been so rosy. Based on information obtained front the Federal Attorney General’s Office (PGR), during Ernesto Zedillo’s presidency (1994-2000) those states suffered the presence of three cartels — Sinaloa, Golfo and Juárez.

Read the rest at El Daily Post



NarcoData is a data journalism project from Animal Político and El Daily Post that explains the evolution and growth of organized crime in Mexico. This latest article, which will be followed by others in upcoming days, looks at the virtually complete penetration of narco organizations in every state of the nation, including those that have a reputation as being “peaceful.” The information presented here is based on data from the Federal Attorney General’s Office after a number of freedom of information requests. (To see NarcoData in Spanish, click here)

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