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V. Oswaldo: Address to Peace Summit 2023, Session III-B
Written by Hon. Victor Oswaldo Fuentes Solis, senator, Mexico
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Address to Peace Summit 2023
May 2-5, 2023
The number of violent incidents in Mexico indicate an unsustainable and unacceptable increase, if we consider the following data:
The Criminal Incidence Report of the Executive Secretariat of the National System of Public Security of the Mexican government reveals that from December 1, 2018 to March 31, 2023, the number of victims of intentional homicide rose to 143,980 in the first four years of the current six-year administration.
Comparing this number with that for the last three administrations indicate that there has been a very considerable increase in homicides. With regard to the government of Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018), the figure for the [victims of intentional homicide during his] first four years was 88,481. The number of homicides increased by 63% compared to the same period during the previous government.
Comparing the number for this in the first four years of the 2006-2012 administration with that of the current administration, there was a 137% increase in the number of homicides, from 60,690 to 143,980.
Finally, comparing the number of homicides in the first four years of former President Vicente Fox Quesada’s administration (2000-2006) with that of the current government, there was a 262% increase, from 39,789 to 143,980.
In addition, according to data from the National Search Commission (CNB) of the Mexican government, in the last four years, 63,190 people disappeared in Mexico, of which 6,153 were unfortunately found dead.
In the case of missing and unaccounted for migrants, in the last 23 years, 191 have disappeared, of which only 40 have been located, three of whom are dead, and 151 are still missing.
Of the total number of migrants that disappeared in the last 23 years, 172, or 90 percent of all migrant disappearances in Mexico, were registered in the current administration. Ninety-one of these migrants are Nicaraguan, Honduran, Guatemalan and Colombian.
As we have seen, the Latin American region and, in particular, Mexico, the country I represent, have important areas of opportunity to build peace.
It is necessary to understand that building peace is a complex process, involving factors such as social well-being, respect for human rights, education, health, education for the poor and environment, democracy and international relations and legal norms, as well as culture and communication. Thus, national governments must devise policies aimed at promoting a culture of peace and the rule of law. However, the Mexican state has lacked a congruent and effective strategy. The data above confirms the lack of coherence in the achievement of these objectives.
Likewise, according to the United Nations’ website with a regional database for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Latin America and the Caribbean, we can see that in the region’s efforts at fulfilling SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, the number of victims of intentional homicide per 1,000 inhabitants slightly decreased from 2018 to 2021. However, per 100,000 inhabitants in real terms, the number of homicides against women, a group that is in a vulnerable situation, went from 5.9 to 6.2.
Another vulnerable group are migrants. There have been reports of homicides against migrants. Crimes committed during the triennium of 2016 to 2018 in relation to that of 2019 to 2021, went from 2,062 to 3,722.
Mexico must face regional conflicts that could affect the governance of the territory, as in the case of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in the state of Chiapas, which warned on its website, on September 19, 2021, that Chiapas is "on the verge of a civil war" and threatened to take "appropriate measures to ensure the application of justice."
These problems require concrete and effective measures, which is why I would like to refer to the United Nations Secretary General's "Agenda for Peace" (A/47/277-S/24), which outlines a roadmap for consolidating a culture of peace in our region:
- Seek to identify, at an early stage, situations likely to lead to conflicts and, through the UN and diplomacy, try to eliminate the sources of danger before they explode, before the outbreak of violence occurs;
- In case of conflict, adopt peacekeeping measures to solve the problems that arise and the
[underlying causes] of it;
- Through peacekeeping activities, seek to preserve peace, however fragile it may be, where it is and help implement agreements that peacemakers have accepted;
- Contribute to the consolidation of peace in its different contexts, restoring the institutions and infrastructures of nations devastated by war and civil strife, and establishing mutually beneficial ties between nations in times of peace;
- In a more global perspective, try to end the root causes of conflicts: economic despair, social injustice and political oppression.
To consolidate these noble objectives, priority must be given to resolving the structural causes of conflicts. Thus, as peacebuilding does not seek to resolve the root causes of conflicts, these causes will continue to spread. Furthermore, conflicts will continue to spread and become increasingly serious and complex. [Addressing them] requires political will, transformation of ideas internalized in society and proposals that aim to provoke questions and changes in the actors. To this end, it is important that human rights protection bodies, cooperation agencies, the government sector, the private sector, the media and society in general have a refined and reformed vision of how to deal with new problems.
However, in order to maintain peace in the Latin American and Caribbean region, it is necessary for national governments to work on coordinated strategies, especially in the security sector.
An example of this is the fight against organized crime in some countries in the region. Without the support of border states, there is a risk that these states will serve as a refuge for the leaders of these criminal corporations, spreading criminal cells across border countries and preventing the eradication of these mafias in their countries. This domino effect creates a vicious cycle of criminality, which only exacerbates and spreads the problem, since people living in poverty, with an irregular immigration status or who belong to a vulnerable group, tend to be easy targets for the recruitment of organized crime.
Recruitment by organized crime threatens the security and stability of Latin America as a whole.
It is important to make clear that the universal conception of peace based on hegemonic values from particular points of view can make it difficult to recognize alternatives for conflict management in the context of multicultural societies, the case of most countries that make up the Latin American region.
Thus, although it is inevitable that external factors are [to be considered] when designing solutions for regional conflicts, the strategy must essentially be oriented towards proposing and supporting solutions for regional conflicts and local solutions for peace, listening before creating the conditions for interventions, and ensuring the adaptability and sustainability of the achieved results.
As a senator of the Mexican Republic, within the scope of the powers of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, I undertake to work in coordination with regional and international sectors for the construction and maintenance of a culture of peace in my country, and I am convinced that the Mexican state, faithful to its doctrine of respect for human rights of others, will be willing to cooperate with all of you to consolidate a world with peace and justice for all.
To go to the Peace Summit 2023 Schedule page, click here.