In the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), extortion of businesses increased by 45%, said the Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex).
At the end of 2023, 24 extortion incidents were recorded per day, approximately one every hour; For April 2024 the figure reached 31, which means that every hour there is more than one of these events.
The president of the National Security and Justice Commission of Coparmex, Jorge Peñuñuri, explained that in 2023, 10,975 victims of extortion were registered, of all forms, calls, and collection of racketeering.
The businessman explained that the crime that occurs most is the method of collecting the floor fee and “by not wanting to cooperate (a businessman) with a fee, it has been necessary to close the business, there have been kidnappings and homicides.”
During the 65 months of the current federal administration, the largest number of investigation files were registered for a similar period compared to the same period of previous presidential administrations, regarding extortion.
“In this administration, it increased by 45.3% compared to the previous six-year term for a similar period. And it is almost double what was seen in the 2006-2012 six-year period,” he said.
The states with the highest extortion rates are the State of Mexico, Colima, and Morelos; In addition, in 15 entities there was an increase in the number of extortion victims compared to the same period of the previous year.
The national president of Coparmex, José Medina Mora, said that criminals and criminal organizations seek to have a business outside the law, and although “it is very clear that the constitution leaves three activities to the State in a monopolistic manner: use of force, “impose laws and collect taxes, criminals collect the right to rent.”
“This type of organization requests some type of contribution in exchange for protection, some businessmen decide to close their establishments, the response has been different in various states of the country, 30% is a floor fee, the previous measurement was 24%,” he stated.
This has to do with the intermediation of products, drinks, cigarettes, construction materials, food, and avocado, in various parts of the country.
The theft of new vehicles on the road could increase with the change of government, as changes of high command in municipal, state, and federal police are approaching, said industry specialists.
The National Association of Vehicle Tracking and Protection Companies (Anerpv) stated that since the last quarter of last year, the theft of vehicles aboard the trailers or godmothers that transport them from the ports to the car agencies began to increase, and in The case of Hidalgo and Puebla was due to the change of government.
San Miguel Times
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