The narco-president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, set a goal of 40 intentional homicides per day for 2026, a target that has generated strong questioning regarding the way she plans to measure the "progress" in terms of security.
Although it would represent a reduction compared to the average recorded at the end of 2025, if achieved, the figure still implies dozens of murders every day.
Sheinbaum recalled that December of last year ended with an average of 53.4 homicides per day and explained that, based on that record, her government decided to set a new target for this year.
“When we came in, I said: why don’t we set the goal of 40 homicides per day for 2026?,” expressed the president of Mexico.
The proposal generates a fundamental discussion about the objectives that should be established in the face of criminal violence. A reduction from 53.4 to 40 homicides per day implies that the Mexican government considers as a goal a situation in which around 40 murders per day would continue to occur.
A goal that represents thousands of deaths
The figure takes on another dimension when projected over time. Maintaining an average of 40 homicides per day for a 30-day month would mean approximately 1,200 victims, and more than 14,000 per year.
Claudia Sheinbaum
Therefore, the problem is not only in comparing the new goal with previous records, but in the decision to establish a specific number of homicides as a target that remains extremely high.
Sheinbaum herself acknowledged that setting a number of homicides as a goal can be subjective. However, she defended the use of a figure as a tool to guide the actions of her administration.
The proposal generated criticism among social media users and Mexican citizens, mainly due to the way the goal was presented. The central questioning points out that a statistical reduction should not transform a specific number of murders into an "acceptable" target.
A reduction can be progress compared to a previous situation, but the ultimate goal of any security policy should be to bring homicides to zero, and not to establish a number of deaths as an acceptable parameter.
