Day-to-Day Killings in the nation Fall Over a Third During President Sheinbaum, As per Official Figures

The mean count of daily murders monthly in Mexico has fallen by 37% since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office, as stated by fresh official data. However, security experts have cautioned that murder figures may not indicate improved countrywide stability.

Significant Decline in Daily Averages

There was an mean of nearly 55 homicides a day in the month of November compared with roughly 87 when the President assumed the presidency in September of last year. This announcement was provided by the chief of the nation's national public security system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's regular news conference on a recent Tuesday.

“The result in homicides that we’ve had during these months is remarkably notable,” Sheinbaum said, adding that last month the lowest number of murders were registered for any November in the past decade.

Historical Context and Government Plan

Violent organized crime internal conflicts, alongside the administration's highly military efforts to take on the trafficking organizations, have made Mexico’s murder rate soar in the past few years. The figure reached a record high of 36,773 killings in 2020, per the nation's national statistics agency.

That gave Mexico a murder figure over 4x greater than the US. From that point, murders have been on the decrease, falling to 33,550 last year. Sheinbaum has credited her national security approach for an apparently steeper drop in homicides this year.

At a press conference in August, the head of state stated: “We have a strategy, we have oversight of the plan, and there is detailed monitoring municipality by municipality in some cases. The plan is effective. And we have to continue working at it every day.”

The key pillars of Sheinbaum’s safety plan involve:

• Bolstering Mexico’s domestic security force.
• Advancing information gathering and investigation work.
• Increased coordination between various authorities.

Analyst Caution and Statistical Limitations

But, public safety analysts warned that relying on murder statistics to paint a picture of improved security was flawed. This is especially true in light of the uptick in different criminal activities such as forced disappearances.

“That would be positive information if this were a decrease, but I think we shouldn't just focus on the homicide numbers and say: ‘Alright, great,’” stated Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an authority on Mexican organised crime. “I would be tentatively positive.”

As reported by the public policy research thinktank Mexico Evalúa, homicides in total declined by more than 20% in the initial 10 months of this year compared with the identical period last year. But, missing persons cases have risen by 15% and in some regions have increased by as much as 200%.

“Numbers on murders is not reliable for estimating the context of insecurity,” said Armando Vargas, a security analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have police and investigators who lack the ability or the desire to properly recognize and classify bodies. Second, organized [criminals] … have the means to conceal violent acts through abductions.”

Vargas pointed out that using month-to-month averages of everyday killings was similarly concerning because it may obscure periods when there were especially elevated levels of killings.

“Employing the daily average renders spikes of violent crime invisible,” he said.

Detentions and Confiscations as Metrics of Progress

An area where the government can point to the effectiveness of its security plan is on arrests and confiscations. Nearly 40,000 suspects were apprehended between last October and November 2025 for serious crimes, according to official data. Over 20,000 guns were taken and 311 tons of drugs intercepted.

“Donald Trump cannot accuse President Sheinbaum of doing nothing, because the reality is she is accomplishing a lot with these many thousands of arrests, thousands of confiscations, and all the operational weakening of organised crime. It’s extremely politically beneficial,” stated Vargas.

Ongoing Unrest and Societal Anger

However notwithstanding these actions, Mexico is still beset by extreme bloodshed, with a number of states in the midst of cartel-driven violence. Recently there was a prominent killing of a popular mayor in the region of Michoacan, among 10 local leaders assassinated in the last 12 months.

Weeks later, thousands of protesters demonstrated in Mexico City and throughout the country to show their outrage at corruption and cartel violence.

“The administration frames [data] in a way to construct a narrative of security. From a political standpoint it’s highly effective, from a social perspective it’s extremely questionable,” the analyst concluded.