Fresnillo, Ciudad Obregón (Sonora) and Zacatecas were the cities at the national level that registered a greater perception of unsafety by its inhabitants, according to the National Survey of Security Urban Public of the Inegi; however, despite this environment, the federal authorities are committed to the urban improvement to try to correct the situation.
In the first quarter of 2022, two Zacatecan cities were placed with the highest percentage of inhabitants over 18 years of age who consider it unsafe to live there.
In the case of Fresnillo, currently the locality with the highest perception of unsafety Throughout the country, 97.1% of those consulted stated that they were afraid of being a victim of a crime, witnessing one, changing their routines and habits out of fear or witnessing antisocial conflicts, while in the case of the city of Zacatecas, 91.7% expressed the same sensation.
Thus, both Zacatecan cities were located at almost 30 percentage points above the national average of unsafety received, according to Inegi figures.
“In March 2022, 66.2% of the population aged 18 and over residing in 75 cities of interest considered that it is unsafe to live in their city,” the agency detailed.
Urban improvement, the strategy?
For 2021, the Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (Sedatu) was assigned a total programmable expenditure of more than 16,620 million pesos, of which 50% was assigned to Urban Improvement Program (PMU), according to data from the 2021 Federation Expenditure Budget.
Sedatu’s flagship program in this administration seeks to intervene in the municipalities to improve habitability conditions due to urban and social backwardness, as well as its effects.
“The program of Urban Improvement is aligned with the National Development Plan 2019-2024 (PND) published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on July 12, 2019, specifically in its section 2 Social Policy, numeral VIII referring to the “Urban Development and Housing “.
Likewise, the Program contributes to Priority Objective 3 ‘Promote an affordable, resilient and sustainable habitat, to advance in the construction of living spaces so that all people can live safely and in equal conditions’, in accordance with the operating rules of the Sedatu on the program, published at the end of 2020 for the fiscal year of 2021.
According to data sent by the Secretariat headed by Román Meyer, last year in Fresnillo alone, 180 million pesos were invested for five works, of which three have been completed: the Factory of Arts and Crafts, a Community Development Center and a library with a covered court.
In the next few days, according to Sedatu, a Community Development Center will be delivered, located in the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood, as well as an Urban Development Center in the Obrera neighborhood. According to local media, these two locations, especially the first, have been the scene of shootings, murders and arsons in recent weeks.
On the other hand, Sedatu pointed out that through the National Housing Commission (Conavi) about 2,000 housing actions were carried out with an investment of more than 108 million pesos.
“With this comprehensive intervention, progress is being made in urban development planning in the state,” said Sedatu.
However, despite investments in urban improvement in Fresnillo, these have not impacted the perception of unsafetywhich since December of last year place it with 96.8% of the population with a feeling of little security.
According to data from the National Survey on Victimization and Perception of Security Public of 2021 (latest available) in Zacatecas it is estimated that 22.6% of households registered at least one victim of a crime in 2020.
“The ENVIPE allows us to estimate that by 2020 in the state of Zacatecas the total cost as a result of the unsafety and crime in homes represented an amount of 1,789.5 million pesos”, according to information from Inegi.