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August 8, 2005
Mexicans Say Illicit Activity Has Increased



(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in Mexico believe crime remains a problem throughout the country, according to a poll by Reforma. 59 per cent of respondents think public safety in Mexico has gotten worse in the past 12 months.

Criminal activity has been a predicament in Mexico City for the past few years. In June 2004, an estimated 300,000 residents publicly demonstrated to demand action from mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) and president Vicente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN). 66 per cent of respondents say organized crime in Mexico has increased.

Over the past two years, at least 27 Americans have either disappeared or been kidnapped along the U.S.-Mexico border. The situation prompted U.S. ambassador to Mexico Antonio Garza to send a letter to foreign secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez and attorney general Rafael Macedo de la Concha, claiming Mexico’s law enforcement units are incapable of dealing with the situation. Fox declared Garza’s letter had been "a bit scandalous."

According to estimates by Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), more than 4,000 women from the Ciudad Juarez area have been reported missing since 1993, and 340 have been killed.

In May, Fox criticized the press for its coverage of the murders, declaring, "We are offended by what has happened in Juarez, but it is not correct to be rehashing the same 300 or 400 cases."

Polling Data

Over the past year, would you say public safety in Mexico has gotten better, gotten worse, or stayed the same?

Better 11%

The same 30%

Worse 59%



Over the past year, would you say organized crime in Mexico has increased, decreased, or stayed the same?

Increased 66%

The same 24%

Decreased 10%



Source: Reforma
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 850 Mexican adults, conducted on Jul. 20 and Jul. 31, 2005. Margin of error is 3.4 per cent.