In its annual report on Mexico, released yesterday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) stated that our country is going through "a serious crisis of violence and security for several years", due largely to the "war against drug trafficking" driven by the past Calderón administration—which has not undergone "substantial changes" under the present administration—and the strengthening of the participation by the armed forces in public security tasks has
"unleashed even more violence, as well as serious human rights violations in which a lack of accountability is observed."
Regarding the crime perpetrated in Iguala on September 26, 2014, in which six people were killed and, as a result of which, 43 [Ayotzinapa] Normal School students are still missing, the international body said it is "an emblematic example of the apparent collusion between state agents and members of organized crime", and stressed that it shows the "serious deficiencies" of the investigations into these cases, and "the structural and almost absolute impunity" for crimes that take place in the country.
As for the current government measures to confront this crisis, the Commission considers them inadequate and insufficient and noted that there is "a profound gap" between the legislative and judicial institutions and the reality endured by millions of people.
The official government response, issued through a press release, simply dismisses the report, arguing "a bias in the initial methodology" and listing the actions taken to address the situation. According to the Mexican government, the Commission's document "does not reflect the overall situation of the country and starts from erroneous premises and diagnosis", ignores the progress and leaves aside "the wealth of information that the Mexican government delivered to it".
Government collision with the hemisphere's human rights organization certainly heightens concern because of the growing international discredit of the regime, aggravated by numerous negative accusations regarding corruption and violations of basic guarantees. But the most serious collision is not with the Commission, but with reality.
Even leaving aside episodes as offensive as Iguala [Ayotzinapa]—in which government forces, in collusion with organized crime, murdered and disappeared dozens of people—and that of Tlatlaya—in which there is strong evidence of extrajudicial executions by members of the army—and many other emblematic cases of deterioration of the rule of law in the country, the fact is that official figures show more than 48,000 intentional homicides in the first three years of the current administration, plus thousands of enforced disappearances, which is comparable to and even greater than the outcome of the Calderón administration's "public security strategy".
This implies that the government still ignores its fundamental and primary responsibility, which is to preserve the public peace, provide security to citizens and ensure their right to life. If to this inexcusable lack is added the set of outrages and attacks that have been perpetrated by civil servants and public officials against the civilian population, as well as the persistent impunity that is the outcome of the bad exercise of the prosecution of justice, it is difficult to deny that the country is going through a serious human rights crisis and a systemic failure of the institutions of public security and law enforcement.
The first step in solving problems is to admit their existence. Therefore, the official denial of a diagnosis that so precisely reflects the exasperating reality suffered by millions of people in the country is disheartening. Spanish original