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Mexico has waged a long, bloody battle on drugs and crime for decades. But violence there .

In one of the latest high-profile incidents, Mexican law enforcement arrested , a leader of the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel and the son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, in early January 2023. The arrest of violence in Culiacan in northwest Mexico, resulting in looting, shootouts and .

The ongoing violence in parts of Mexico is largely associated with drug trafficking organizations like Sinaloa, street gangs and regular citizens have formed to protect themselves from crime because of ineffective police and military deterrents.

I am culture and literature. how the Mexican government reduce violent crime through changes to criminal justice and human rights law.

But these attempts have largely failed, allowing the cycle of violence to escalate.

Here are four key points to understand.

1. Violence in Mexico continues to rise

An people disappear every day in Mexico. The stands at 28 per 100,000 people—four times the rate in the United States.

The up starting in 2007, with the worst years in 2011 and from 2018 to the present.

Violent crime across the country.

The people most at risk of violence are in the central and southwestern parts of the country, as well as in the northern states of Chihuahua, Sinaloa, .

In the western states of Michoacán and Guerrero, violent crime—including kidnappings, murders and disappearances—occur mostly between and drug-trafficking groups. In the northern states, bordering the U.S., the violence is dominated by fighting between drug cartels and street gangs.

2. Military used to fight war on drugs

Mexican federal authorities have associated rising violence with drug trafficking since the beginning of the 20th century—dating back to 1917, when the prohibited drugs, with the goal of preventing violence.

And, so, when Mexico's former President Felipe Calderón on drugs in 2006, his decision had a long history.

The U.S. government supported this war with a military agreement, , that began in 2007 and lapsed in 2021.

The plan's tactics—including the Mexican military's targeting and killing of drug cartel leaders—did not quell the , which continued to spread and intensify .

Mexico has tried to address this rise in drug cartel activity and crime with different measures, including sending to fight drug cartels and other criminal groups in Mexico's streets—a violation of Mexico's original Constitution that prohibited the use of military for police work within the country. In October 2022, Mexico approved a constitutional reform that allows the military to carry out domestic law enforcement .

3. Corruption complicates crime reduction

The Mexican government also passed a number of new laws over the past decade to address crime.

One main problem with implementing these laws effectively is across the government, military and . The Mexican military, for example, is tasked with fighting cartels—but been known to sell weapons to them.

In 2008, the Mexican Congress approved a series of constitutional reforms affecting the —these reforms addressed the reality that and convicted for crimes they did not commit. This is partially because Mexico's old legal system put on trial were guilty until proved innocent—the reforms switched this norm to the U.S. model, so people are now considered innocent until proved guilty.

Over 90% murders in Mexico , meanwhile, remain unsolved.

The changes to the criminal justice system aim to address these issues and make several important changes. These reforms include making trials—which were typically documented only in writing—oral, making it easier for people to track court cases and in public monitoring of court proceedings.

The changes also mandated that serve on all trials, to avoid the risk of a single presiding over a decision.

The changes were fully implemented across all 31 states of Mexico in 2016. But these reduced violence in Mexico. They only scratch the surface and do not address the structural issues—like misogyny and racism—at the root of violence against particularly vulnerable people, like women and .

also do not trust their police or criminal justice system.

that 93.3% of crimes are not reported. Out of the small number of reported cases, arrests are made in only 11.5%.

Women, notoriously, acknowledged when they report that they , or they are reported missing by loved ones. And against women are solved at even lower rates than other crimes.

4. The laws don't tackle core problems

In my opinion, criminal justice reforms alone cannot reduce crime in Mexico.

The percentage of Mexican poverty from 2018 and 2020, increasing by 7.3% during these years.

Inequality between people also remains on the rise, making it one of the most unequal countries in the world. shows that strengthening educational systems in Mexico ——could help curb crime.

These factors—in addition to in the U.S. and demand for drugs transported through Mexico—all form a complicated web that will need to be untangled, and systematically addressed, before criminal justice reforms alone can help make Mexico a safer and more just country.

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