As Claudia Sheinbaum's first year in office is about to be completed, the official figures on missing persons in Mexico reflect an alarming outlook. Far from decreasing, the trend has skyrocketed compared to the beginning of Andrés Manuel López Obrador's term.
According to official data from the Secretaría de Gobernación, between October 2024 and March 2025, 6,726 people were reported missing. This amounts to 41.5 cases per day, compared to 21 cases per day documented during the same period at the start of the previous term.
The contrast is alarming. In just her first 100 days, Sheinbaum accumulated 4,010 disappearances, 60% more than at the beginning of AMLO's administration. Despite these numbers, Sheinbaum insists on boasting about supposed "historic reductions" in homicides, while avoiding any reference to the growing wave of disappearances, especially among young people.
Youth: the main victims of an absent government
The tragedy hits adolescents and young people the hardest. Between January and May 2025, disappearances of young people aged 15 to 19 increased by 75% compared to 2024, with 2,785 cases, of which 1,068 remain active.
The majority of cases are concentrated in states such as Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Estado de México, marked by the violence of organized crime.
Despite these figures, the government's response has been inadequate. Human rights organizations report that authorities are not allocating sufficient resources to searches and that most cases are not even investigated. Morena's security strategy, based on the "hugs, not bullets" policy, has failed to contain criminal groups and leaves thousands of families searching for their loved ones defenseless.
The failure of a policy that prioritizes propaganda
Security experts point out that Sheinbaum is repeating the same mistakes as AMLO, downplaying the crisis to avoid damaging the government's image. Meanwhile, disappearances are multiplying, Morena focuses its narrative on attacking businesspeople and opponents, diverting attention from a tragedy that should be a priority.
Mexico is currently experiencing a critical moment. If the trend continues, the first year of Sheinbaum's administration could become the darkest in history in terms of missing persons. The question many are asking is inevitable:
How long will the federal government continue to ignore the victims and assume its responsibility?
