The facts
Since taking office in October 2024, President Claudia Sheinbaum has **largely adhered to the political agenda of her mentor and predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador**. In her second government report (September 2026) she announced a **51 % drop in the daily homicide rate** compared with 2024. The Mexico Evalúa think‑tank, however, says there is insufficient statistical evidence to attribute the decline directly to her policies. Mexico Evalúa also notes that **crimes against life have risen 197 %** and **femicides 53 %** over the past decade. The national register recorded **135,271 missing persons** in June 2026, up from roughly **115,000** in October 2024 (Red Lupa analysis). Edgar Cortez of the Mexican Institute of Human Rights and Democracy cited a lack of political will and technical expertise to address disappearances. **Displacement** affected about **1.6 million people** (510 000 households) between October 2020 and October 2025, per INEGI. Corruption investigations, such as Operación Enjambre, led to **over 100 arrests** of public officials, but no incumbent or former Morena governor has been prosecuted. On the foreign side, **migrant contacts at the U.S.–Mexico border fell 84 %** (1.5 million to ~238 000) between 2024‑2025, while trade talks on the USMCA continue under pressure from President Donald Trump.
Our take
Well, **fuck me sideways**. Two years in, and Sheinbaum is still juggling Mexico’s nightmare like a clown with a broken pin‑ball machine. She can brag about a 51 % homicide drop, but the think‑tank Mexico Evalúa is quick to remind us that the numbers might be a statistical illusion, especially when **crimes against life have exploded 197 %** and femicide is up 53 % in the same period. Meanwhile, the **missing‑person count swelled by over 20 000**, a human tragedy that the government treats like a bureaucratic footnote. Edgar Cortez’s lament about “lack of political will” feels less like critique and more like a diagnosis of a system that’s asleep at the wheel. The displacement crisis - **1.6 million people forced to move** - is a silent tsunami that no press conference can drown out. On corruption, the new “crackdown” looks like a token sweep: **Operación Enjambre** netted a hundred arrests, yet no Morena governor has faced the music. It’s a classic case of selective justice, a façade of accountability that protects the party’s inner circle while the rest of the country burns. And then there’s the U.S. factor. Trump’s return in 2025 turned Mexico into a diplomatic punching bag, with Sheinbaum publicly rejecting any U.S. military action on Mexican soil while quietly **cooperating on migration** and **negotiating trade** to keep the economy afloat. The border numbers dropped dramatically, but that’s a win for Trump’s narrative, not necessarily for Mexican policy. In short, Sheinbaum’s tenure reads like a PR‑driven remix of López Obrador’s playbook: modest statistical wins, massive human‑rights setbacks, and a foreign policy that bends whenever the orange‑toned bully in Washington flexes. The only thing that’s truly disappeared is any genuine hope that she gives a single, solitary shit about the suffering of millions.
