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Report: The overwhelming majority of murders and femicides in Mexico remain unsolved

A new report shows that a stunning number of murders in Mexico remain unsolved. Impunity has been a long-standing issue in the country.

From 2015 to 2021, only about 7% of murder cases in Mexico resulted in a conviction, according to Monserrat Lopez, a data analyst with Impunidad Cero, which has released the fifth edition of its report analyzing impunity in Mexico.

Conviction rates for femicides — the killing of a woman or girl because of her gender — were higher, at about 44%. However, the report emphasized that only about 20% of murders of women and girls were investigated as femicides in 2021, with each state applying a different set of criteria.

According to the report, high impunity rates are the result of a criminal justice system that lacks funding, staff and resources to properly investigate, solve and bring such cases to trial.

Meanwhile, Mexico has seen skyrocketing levels of violence, with an average of 94 murders and 10 femicides reported every day.

Kendal Blust was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2018 to 2023.