MEXICO’S RICHEST CITY IS SUFFERING HUGE INCREASES IN CRIME:

Sarah,

Oh man, there are a lot of horrible stories about Mexico’s drug war.  This one is particularly depressing. 

The city of Monterrey is Mexico’s most successful city.  Here are some details:

- The city’s GDP per capita is $20,000 per year.  This is the highest rate in the country and is nearly double Mexico’s GDP per capita.  As a point of reference, America’s GDP per capita is $48,000 per year.  Mississippi, America’s poorest state, has a GDP per capita of about $33,000 per year

(GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product.  Gross Domestic Product means the total economic output of an area.  GDP per capita takes the total economic output of an area and divides it by the number of people in area.  Thus it is a rough calculation of an area’s standard of living.)

- Monterrey is the industrial heart of Mexico and hosts many of Mexico’s most important companies.

- Monterrey has Mexico’s second highest rate of foreign investment.  (The rate at which foreigners invest money into a certain area)

- Monterrey has a great education system and impressive infrastructure.

- Monterrey is the third largest city in the country.

What Has Happened?

Crime has exploded.  The statistics are absolutely staggering:

-From 2010 to 2011 to murder rate increased 300%.  Let’s put that number in perspective.  Last year 300 people were murdered in Los Angeles.  A 300% increase would bring L.A.’s murder rate to 900 murders in only one year.

-Media outlets that report on crime have been attacked.  Last month, drug gangs torched the offices of a Monterrey newspaper named El Norte. (More than 80 Mexican journalists have been killed this year.)

- In May, 49 bodies were dumped near a roadside on the outskirts of the city.  The heads, hands, and feet were hacked off of each body.  (As another point of reference, there were only 38 murders in the entire city in San Diego last year.)

- Last August, 52 people were killed when drug gangs attacked a crowded casino.

- The historic center of the city, which used to be a center for nightlife, has been more or less abandoned.  Only one restaurant remains open.

Why Has This Happened?

All drug cartels are bad, but the Zetas are the worst.  They are by far the most violent drug gang in Mexico and are more prone to engage in other crimes such as kidnapping and extortion.  

The Zeta’s used to be the bodyguards of the larger Gulf Cartel.  They broke away from the Gulf Cartel in 2010 and have since been fighting Mexico’s more established gangs for control of Monterrey. 

Bottom line: The crazy part is that Monterrey is not even Mexico’s most violent city.  It is merely the latest casualty in a long, tragic war.