Drug War Has Reduced Mexicans' Life Span by as Much as a Year

"Anonymous" for Borderland Beat

Firearm victims per state from January to March 2021. Red states have more than 674 victims; Orange states have between 339 and 674; and Yellow states have between 1 and 339 (photo credit: Milenio) 

The life expectancy of Mexicans declined by as much as a year between 2005 and 2010 due to violence generated by organized crime groups, according to a new government report.

Citing a journal article on the impact of violence on life expectancy, the federal Security Ministry (SSPC) said the amount of time a person can expect to live declined by six months to one year in several states in the five-year period, which coincides with the first years of the militarized “war on drugs” launched by former president Felipe Calderón in late 2006.

The states where citizens’ life expectancy decreased were Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Nayarit, Michoacán, Tlaxcala, Guerrero and Morelos. The reduction in life expectancy in other states was between one and five months.

The homicide numbers recorded in recent years are even higher than those in the 2005–2010 period, meaning that the impact of violence on Mexicans’ life expectancy is now even greater.

However, the SSPC report didn’t include any data for the period following 2010. The life expectancy in Mexico was 75 in 2019, according to the World Bank. Entitled Violence Linked to Firearms, the report also cited data that showed that 40% of adult Mexicans who responded to a security survey late last year reported that they frequently see gunfights or hear gunshots.

That figure rose to 82.7% among residents of Fresnillo, Zacatecas — a municipality overtaken by organized crime, according to the mayor, 75.4% among people who live in the sprawling Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa and 75.3% among denizens of Chimalhuacán, State of Mexico.

Other cities where more than 60% of respondents to the national statistics agency’s 29th National Survey on Urban Public Security reported seeing gunfights or hearing gunshots frequently included Ecatepec, State of Mexico; Tijuana, Baja California; Reynosa, Tamaulipas; Naucalpan, State of Mexico; Cuernavaca, Morelos; and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.

The SSPC report also included data that showed that the percentage of homicides committed with firearms has increased from 15% in 1997 to almost 70% in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.

Sources: Milenio; MDN