Mexico Peace Index 2026: CDMX Homicides at 4-Year Low, Yet City Among States with Greatest Peace Deterioration

The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) released its annual Índice de Paz México 2026 on May 20, documenting Mexico's sharpest recorded year-on-year decline in lethal violence — a 22.7% drop in homicides, equivalent to approximately 7,000 fewer murders in 2025 compared to 2024. Mexico advanced 5.1% overall in the global peace rankings but remained at position 135 of 163 nations evaluated. The economic cost of violence was estimated at MXN 4 trillion — 11% of national GDP — with 721 feminicides documented and approximately 35,000 new disappearances in 2025 (bringing the historical total above 113,000 missing persons). For Mexico City specifically, official data from January–April 2026 recorded a 7% decrease in homicides compared to the same period in 2025, reaching the lowest figure since 2022 — data Jefa de Gobierno Clara Brugada highlighted publicly in May. However, the IEP report paradoxically listed CDMX among the states showing the greatest peace deterioration index in 2025, driven by rising extortion, cartel-linked disappearances in peripheral alcaldías, and persistently high femicide rates despite official improvement metrics. National insecurity perception increased for the first time in seven years, rising from 73.6% to 75.6% of the population who described their state as insecure.