Guerrero

The economy of Guerrero is sustained, in large part, by its tourism industry. While Guerrero attracts visitors across the entirety of its territory, tourism is concentrated in an area referred to as Triángulo del Sol [the triangle of the sun] which spans Acapulco, Taxco and Zihuantanejo. Acapulco, in particular, is considered to be a key tourist destination not just for the state, but the country overall, specifically with respect to the economic revenue it generates. The tourist sector in Guerrero is diverse and includes ecotourism, extreme sports, nightlife, and architectural pre-colonial and colonial structures. In a state that prides itself so highly on its status as an idyllic tourist destination, the dichotomy between this image and the reality of intense economic inequality, widespread poverty and violent cartels that ravage the residents of the state is striking. 

Due to the size of its tourism sector, the majority of the workers in Guerrero are employed in the service industry. Other prominent sectors include fishing, mining and agriculture. Fishing supports communities along the coast in addition to sustaining a robust commercial fishing industry. Mining is popular in this state as well, thanks to the natural mineral deposits of gold, iron and lead in this territory.

Agricultural production in Guerrero ranges from subsistence farming to international trade. This state, in addition to growing staple and commercial crops, is perhaps best known for being among the top producers of poppy flowers in the world (links to external source, print view only PDF). After coffee production fell 88% between 2003 and 2016, the vast majority of former coffee land was repurposed to grow drug crops (Lohmuller, 2016). The success of poppy production for use in heroin and cocaine, reflected the high levels of economic stress faced by farmers in the region. When NAFTA lifted tariffs on agricultural goods, farmers were unable to compete with cheap food imports from the U.S., including the central staple of corn (Grandmaison, Morris and Smith 2019). Many were, in fact, compelled to grow poppy flowers in order to support their basic needs, and the rise of organized crime in the region coincided with the elimination of protective tariffs under NAFTA. 

The average yearly income per capita is 5,500 US dollars (links to external source, print view only PDF). Despite the fact that Guerrero’s GDP and economic security are average when compared to the 31 other states in Mexico, the Human Development Index (HDI) of Guerrero ranks 31st out of 32 states. The rate of illiteracy, a marker for educational achievement, is quite high, at 13.61% and symptomatic of the fact that 46% of the population over the age of 15 lacks basic schooling. Those that do access education complete an average of 7.8 years of schooling. Due to the present conditions of high unemployment and limited access to education across the state, Guerrero ranks number one out of all the states in Mexico for the rate of emigration to other states and seventh (links to external source, print view only PDF) for emigration to the United States.

Guerrero is demographically diverse, especially when compared to other states in Mexico. This state is home to four indigenous groups: Nahuas, Mixtecs, Amuzgos, and Tlapanecos. There are over 20 languages spoken in Guerrero. Alongside Spanish, the most frequently spoken languages are Nahuatl (38.9%), Mixteco (27%), Tlapaneco (21.9%) and Amuzgo (7.9%). Out of those who speak an indigenous language, only 29% of them also speak Spanish (INEGI). Indigenous Mexicans make up 13% pf Guerrero's population. There are also large communities of Afro-Mexicans in the coastal region, making up the highest percentage of Afro-Mexicans of any state. Indigenous groups and Afro-Mexicans have historically and presently faced severe discrimination due to their ethnic backgrounds.

The climate of violence in Guerrero influences the functioning of the government and its susceptibility to corruption. A climate of fear is pervasive among state officials and political candidates. The International Crisis Group reported an instance in which an autodefense group set off a car bomb to persuade a mayor to honor their established quid pro quo, moving police forces out of a designated area. In such a context, individuals pursuing elected office feel compelled to negotiate with criminal operatives in exchange for votes; some even maintain direct ties to criminal groups. This fear and intimidation is not limited to government officials; citizens of Guerrero are made to vote for candidates favored by local organized crime groups through their employment of violence and threats. 

Corruption is rampant among municipal and state police forces in Guerrero; a reputation which severely undermines the respect and trust of community members. 82.7% (links to external source, print view only PDF) of police officers in Guerrero said that their superiors showed “improper or illegal behavior including acts of aggression against citizens as well as accepting bribes”. Additionally, 88.1% surveyed stated that their peers displayed the same types of behavior. To make matters worse, many on the force are not trained adequately, if at all, to carry out their jobs. As of 2018, 32% of the officers on the force in Guerrero had received “no training at all”. The ineffectiveness and inadequate training of police forces in this state is reflected in its high impunity rates.  Impunity in murder cases is a staggering 96% (links to external source, print view only PDF), making it the third highest in Mexico.

Illustrative of police corruption, the municipality of Acapulco disbanded its own police force over “criminal infiltration”, diminishing public confidence even further. INEGI has found that 84.7% of individuals over the age of 18 in Guerrero consider their city to be unsafe. Only 17.6% of the population was satisfied with the police as of 2019. 

La cifra negra, or the dark figure on crime, which measures crimes that are believed to have gone unreported, was a startling 96.8% as of 2017. In other words, the scope of crime and victimization is wider than current data shows. Having lost faith in the very institutions whose role is to project members of civil society, many decide to leave crimes unreported, contributing to the continued widespread lack of accountability in the state.

Guerrero has a history of systemic violence. Tensions related to colonialism, diversity, indigeneity and suppression have driven conflicts over the development of Guerrero since its inception. Indigenous populations and Africans forcibly brought over as slaves have faced violence since colonization; violence that has continued during the revolutionary war, the “dirty war” and the “war on drugs”.  

The process of colonization is ongoing and occurs through the expropriation of indigenous lands, exploitation of labor and mistreatment of migrant workers and miners. This colonial violence is coupled with that of increasingly militarized security forces within the state, drug production and trafficking, torture at the hands of the state, and enforced disappearances. Violence has long been used as a means to repress indigenous and peasant communities in Guerrero.

For many living in this state, the colonial repression of indigenous populations is a political throughline that has existed since the 16th century. In 2017, there were 25 episodes of massive internal displacement in Mexico and seven of those episodes occurred in Guerrero, the highest number in the country. A report from the Pulitzer Center notes that indigenous communities suffer from massive internal displacement at a disproportionate rate. Out of the massive internal displacement episodes that occurred in Guerrero in 2017, 61% of the displaced communities were made up of indigenous Mexicans. This signals an alarming reality that indigenous communities are being targeted and oppressed. 

Another concern to civil society is the influence that organized crime organizations have over the press. Since 2000, Guerrero has had the fifth highest reported rate of journalists murdered in the nation. The persecution of journalists creates a climate of fear, leading to censorship in media outlets. Editors and journalists engage in self-censorship on illicit behavior, rising out of the threat of violent retribution from organized crime groups. Families seeking justice may not have the option of raising awareness through the press.

In the face of such violence and oppression, a culture of activism has developed in Guerrero. The roots of this culture in mainstream consciousness can be traced to the protests realized by those galvanized to protest after witnessing the violence suffered by civilians in Guerrero during the dirty war. This paradigm of resistance has led to the normalization of political uprising among marginalized groups like migrant workers, indigenous communities, and people suffering from poverty. Such protestors often take a stand against human rights violations, impunity, lack of sovereignty for indigenous communities, and social inequality. Speaking broadly, the demonstrators do not often change the views or actions of those in power but are motivated by a historically ingrained mindset of “resistance or complicity”.

The indigenous communities in Guerrero have long borne the brunt of injustice, both socioeconomically and politically. They have also been among the most vocal in response to the impact of the insurgency of cartels and to the response from the state.

Prior to 2009, there were roughly one dozen cartels that maintained control over territory in Guerrero. However, the killing of the criminal leader Arturo Beltran Levya in that year by federal forces disrupted the power dynamics and resulted in the fracturing of various cartels. In actuality, the effects brought about by Levya’s death led to instability within the region and an increase in violence. 

This case is one of many that illustrates the ineffectiveness of decapitation in the fight against sophisticated networks of organized crime. Whereas before the murder of Arturo Beltran Levya there only existed 12 cartels in the state of Guerrero, following his death, the region has come to be dominated by at least 40 organized crime groups to fight over territory in the state. Significantly, there is not a dominant cartel in Guerrero. The fact that no single criminal organization has a monopoly on the state has become an inherent danger in and of itself and has given way to an aggressive, increasingly violent competition between organized crime outlets as they jockey for territory, control over poppy fields and other revenue streams, undermining the safety of those living here. The sheer number of organized crime groups and high levels of impunity in the state have given way to a laissez-faire criminal framework.

In an effort to combat the violence of organized crime, some citizens of Guerrero have taken matters of justice into their own hands. These vigilantes self-identify as “autodefensas” (self-defenders) and strive to defend predominantly indigenous communities from criminal actors. Despite their apparently good intentions, some of these groups have strayed from the protection of their communities and have morphed into collectives that engage in and profit from organized crime themselves. 

In addition to being a drug production site, Guerrero is a transshipment corridor, which attracts violence as organized criminal groups fight for control of the drug market. However, many medium and small criminal outlets do not have easy access to drug related revenue streams, so they forgo narcotics to engage in larger criminal enterprises. In the face of this, many have turned to “predatory rackets” like extortion and kidnappings for ransom. According to INEGI, almost one in five people in Guerrero has had someone try to “bully them into paying for protection”.

El Sur-Periodico de Guerrero

El Sur - Periódico de Guerrero (newspaper of Guerrero) is a news outlet based in Guerrero that caters to a local audience. Founded in 1999, this publication’s mission is to present the news of Guerrero and the world with “an analytical view and a critical attitude”. It is published in both print and online form. Along with standard sections like sports, politics and education, there is a section focused on Guerrero and a specific section devoted to the state’s largest city - Acapulco. Like many other outlets, they have a social media presence.

El Universal

El Universal is a national news outlet that is popular all across Mexico, including in Guerrero. It was founded in 1926 in Mexico City to inform readers on the ending of the Mexican Revolution and the creation of a new Constitution. Since that time it has grown to cover national current events with a following all over Mexico. Since 1996 it has had an online presence, and the publication boasts 300,000 print subscribers across the country.  

El Universal has received criticism for coverage sympathetic to the government, especially during México’s Dirty War. More recently, the New York Times accused El Universal of impartiality and impropriety in their reporting, noting that “El Universal receives more government advertising than any other newspaper in the nation, about $10 million in 2017.”  The paper’s leadership has direct links to the PRI, and was found to have falsely disparaged another candidate in its coverage of México’s 2018 elections. These close links to the government have impacts in human rights coverage. One journalist investigating a case of a shootout of unarmed civilians was prevented from publishing her findings because government officials were responsible for the crimes.