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MEXICO: Crime-Ridden City Where Anything Goes – And Frequently Does

Diego Cevallos

MEXICO CITY, Jan 29 2008 (IPS) - “Keep your heads down, close your eyes and put your hands on your knees, bitches,” said the man who climbed into the old taxi, holding up the couple inside at gunpoint. Seconds later another man joined him, wielding a butcher’s knife. Another armed robbery in the Mexican capital was under way.

The victims had taken the taxi in the historic centre of Mexico City, disregarding the standard warning: “never stop a taxi in the street, especially at night.” The old-model Volkswagen sedan drove for about 15 minutes with the passengers on board before stopping at a traffic light to let the assailants in.

María and Fabián had never been the victims of an armed robbery. But their experience that December night has made them part of the statistics of the capital, where three out of 10 people say they have been victims of a crime, although only one person out of 10 reports it, according to surveys.

They did not report the incident either, because they thought it would be futile to do so.

They were driven around with their assailants for several hours, while their wallet and purse were emptied and their watches, rings and jackets were taken from them. They were insulted and asked all sorts of questions before they were released, but the victims felt fortunate not to have been beaten or sexually assaulted, as has happened in other cases.

In Mexico City proper, which is home to nine million of the 20 million people living in Greater Mexico City, 409 crimes a day were reported in 2006, according to Security Ministry figures for the capital, which has been governed since 1997 by the leftwing Democratic Revolution Party (PRD).

From January to August 2007, an average of 444 crimes a day were reported. Although high, these figures are hailed by the authorities as an achievement, as in 1994 the number of crimes reported in the capital averaged 770 a day.

The Citizens’ Institute for Studies on Insecurity (ICESI), which carries out an annual survey of local residents, says that only 10 percent of crimes committed in the capital are reported. Hence, ICESI estimates the real number of crimes at 4,090 a day in 2006, and 4,440 a day in the first eight months of 2007.

According to ICESI, which is supported by business associations and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), on average 1.6 crimes a year are perpetrated against each victim in the capital city.

Nearly 65 percent of crimes involve different kinds of theft: pickpocketing, purse-snatching or mugging of pedestrians, burglary, car theft, bank robbery, etc. The rest are kidnappings, sexual assaults and armed robberies.

ICESI, the Employers’ Confederation (COPARMEX) and security experts say that more than 90 percent of the crimes reported in Mexico City go unpunished.

The Mexican capital is “a monster which is resistant to any and every security programme, above all because of the mixture of corruption, violence and poverty in which a large proportion of the population is steeped on a daily basis,” private security consultant Saúl Méndez told IPS.

María and Fabián, who did not wish to give their surnames, told IPS that one of the men who held them up in the taxi wore a suit and tie and had his hair cut in the style typical of police officers.

But between them they were unable to agree on the colour of the man’s suit, or whether he was indeed wearing a tie. “In such a threatening situation you get nervous and your vision goes cloudy,” said María.

After the men boarded the taxi, the victims heard them tell the driver to go along a fast highway and not to stop. After taking all their belongings, the men pushed the victims out of the vehicle in a dark, deserted street.

Mexico City has a fleet of about 110,000 taxis, 30,000 of which have no official permits or registration. Some of the irregular taxis are linked in an organisation headed by José Quintero, the brother of the city government’s Minister of Roads and Transport Armando Quintero.

Quintero’s organisation openly supports the PRD. In 2007, the local government instituted a programme aimed at the so-called “pirate taxis”, under which upon payment of a sum of money and inspections of their vehicles, they would be legally authorised to work.

The associations of regular taxis protested the measure, but they were ignored.

“There are many ways to breed crime, and one of them is to tolerate illegality. Taxis in this city know that eventually they will be legalised, so it doesn’t matter if they’re working as ‘pirates’. The same thing happens with taxpayers who haven’t paid their taxes, because later on their debts are forgiven or they’ll get a discount plan,” said Méndez.

“Here in the capital, we’re not in the habit of fulfilling any of our obligations, and that increases the chances of crossing the line into crime,” said the private security consultant.

Over the past 10 years, city authorities have implemented dozens of programmes to improve security, including police training, weapon upgrades, increased patrols, setting up video cameras in public places and offering bonuses to law enforcement agents who stand out.

In 2002 and 2003, the city government paid Rudolph Giuliani, a former mayor of New York (1994-2001) who is now running for the Republican Party nomination as presidential candidate for this year’s elections in the U.S., for advice on security matters.

Giuliani won fame – or notoriety – for his controversial “Zero Tolerance” programme against crime in New York while he was mayor.

But such intolerance is alien to Mexico City, where crime continues to spread terror among the population.

“Being robbed in a taxi is the least of all worries. Rape, murder, and other terrible crimes are happening,” said Fabián.

“This city is crazy, now they’re even legalising pirate taxi drivers, and one of them could be the driver who robbed us,” he complained.

The capital city’s Public Security Ministry announced that this year it will instal 8,000 more surveillance cameras in the most crime-ridden areas of the city, and in places frequented by tourists.

He also said that residents’ opinions would be sought about their local police, who would only receive incentive payments if they score well in the surveys.

Premises used for criminal activities such as selling drugs and stripping stolen cars will be expropriated. An electronic crime database containing 70 million pieces of information will also be set up. The system will be capable of monitoring every person arrested by the police, and tracking whether they have been tried, imprisoned or set free.

Earlier crime control programmes will also be reinforced, and coordination between local and federal police will be improved.

According to Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, the city government will continue to emphasise social action, providing help for the poor, the unemployed and young people. That is the best strategy against crime, he said.

“Ebrard is right, in the long term the fight against poverty will reduce crime, but meanwhile there will continue to be hundreds of thousands of crime victims in this city, which is immune to plans for tighter security,” Méndez said.