There are 59 main opium poppy-growing municipalities across six states according to a new project that mapped production of the illicit crop in Mexico one of the world’s largest heroin producers Produced by Noria Research in alliance with Mexico United Against Crime, the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California, San Diego, and the magazine Espejo, the Mexico Opium Project determined through data analysis that the efforts of the National Defense Ministry to eradicate poppies between 2003 and 2019 were concentrated in 59 municipalities in three large regions Twenty-nine are located in the northwestern region that includes parts of the states of Chihuahua Among the municipalities are Ocampo and Guadalupe y Calvo in Chihuahua Culiacán and Badiraguato – the municipality where convicted drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was born – in Sinaloa Canelas and Topia in Durango and La Yesca and Compostela in Nayarit Twenty-three of the municipalities are located in the southwestern region which encompasses a group of Guerrero municipalities and two in Oaxaca Chilapa and Chilpancingo in Guerrero and Coicoyán de las Flores and San Martín Peras in Oaxaca Its municipalities are Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz The report said the mountainous geography of the three regions is similar with elevations of up to 3,400 meters in the southern and southwestern regions and up to 3,200 meters above sea level in the northwestern region It said that on average one hectare of opium poppies was recorded as destroyed in the 59 municipalities for every 38 hectares of legal crops planted between 2003 and 2019 Presented on Wednesday, a section of the report entitled Why is opium production crucial to better understand the War on Drugs in Mexico? noted that poppies have been cultivated in the Golden Triangle region of Chihuahua Sinaloa and Durango for over 60 years and for almost 40 years in Guerrero “This activity is deeply integrated into society between 70% and 95% of the population – men activities directly or indirectly related to opium,” it said which is also based on 15 months of fieldwork in opium-producing states also said that the army reported destroying poppies in 835 of Mexico’s 2,465 municipalities between 2003 and 2019 That means that poppies have been grown in at least one-third of the nation’s municipalities government affirms that in 2016 Mexico had 32,000 hectares of opium production which increased to 44,100 in 2017,” the report said the report also said that heroin produced in Mexico is exported almost in its entirety to the United States and Canada where it represents around 90% of the consumption market While opium gum prices plummeted in recent years partially due to the rise in popularity of the synthetic opioid fentanyl The Mexico Opium Project estimated that growers are currently paid up to 21,000 pesos (about US $1,000) for a kilogram of opium paste The report said “illicit economies constitute one route for escaping from a subaltern position in a context of chronic economic and social crises in the Mexican countryside.” much of the money generated is captured by legal and illegal intermediaries This means that the fantastic profitability of the final product has an almost null structural impact on inequalities Many poppy growers say they are forced to cultivate the crop due to a lack of other opportunities and government support. Farmers in Guerrero have appealed to López Obrador to legalize the cultivation of opium poppies for use in the manufacture of legal pharmaceuticals The president indicated earlier this week that the government is prepared to consider legalization of the crop for that purpose “With regard to the commercialization of marijuana and poppies the decision has been taken to initiate a thorough analysis of these crops considering that [the growers] are being left behind and they’re being used for the production of [illicit] drugs,” he said Interior Minister Olga Sánchez, who said before the current government took office that López Obrador had given her a “blank check” to explore the possibility of legalizing drugs as well as any other measures that could help restore peace to the country said in January that legalization of poppy production for medicinal purposes was possible “This opiate could be regulated by legislation so that we can obtain all kinds of medicines,” she said Guerrero Governor Héctor Astudillo supports legalization of poppy production which he says could help to reduce violent crime but an initiative to that end has stalled in the state Congress ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC The nation of Mexico is home 130 million people across 31 states (Mexico City is a separate entity but not a state in itself Mexican cities are often host to a violent crimes including homicide we'll detail the most dangerous cities in Mexico and give some info about their history In the past 20 years, the Mexican economy has trended downward while organized crime has expanded to supply illicit drugs to the United States and other foreign markets, leading to gang violence and other violent crimes Drug cartels tend to operate in cities where they can establish drug trafficking routes meaning port cities along the coast and border towns neighboring the U.S While researching, we used a national heat map created by Mexican data scientist Diego Valle-Jones which details the homicide rates of individual cities based on statistics compiled from the Mexican Justice System over the past twelve months We then filtered this data to only select for local populations over 100,000 because towns with small sample sizes over a short period of time can create statistical outliers Manzanillo is one of the most active shipping ports in Mexico as well as a hub for domestic air travel, making it a likely site for trafficking through local drug markets as well as internationally. This area is known frequently as the most dangerous city in Mexico, as well as one of the most dangerous cities in the world The current homicide rate stands at 134 for a population only hovering around 200,000. Manzanillo was previously known as a tourist destination thanks to its beaches and accessibility, but foreign governments have more recently warned travelers against visiting the state of Colima due to the severe violence present in the region San Luis lies just south of Yuma city makes it a prime operating base for local criminal enterprises Its violent crime rate is currently 128.5 with a population of 209,000 Unlike many dangerous cities in Mexico, Apatzingán is located inland away from the sea or the northern border as it was where Mexican independence from Spain was officially declared in 1814 Unfortunately, Apatzingán today is the home of competing drug cartels and a major producer of methamphetamine in the region The current homicide rate 128.3 with 129,000 residents Temixco is a local manufacturing hub with 126,000 people and was once the site of an internment camp for Japanese immigrants during World War II The city is also near historical monuments including the architecture of local indigenous tribes It's also become a hotbed for drug-related violence with a homicide 115 per 100,000 residents Villa de Álvarez neighbors the Colima capital (listed below) and faces many of the same problems with drug gangs as its sister city This municipality is one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the region with a homicide rate of 114 for a population of 158,000 The local economy is primarily centered around growing and shipping of fruits Cuatla, Morelos, was a significant place during the Mexican revolution of the 1910's as many battles were fought in the surrounding region between Emiliano Zapata's forces and the federal army Zapata's body was also buried in the city after his assassination in 1919 with a homicide rate 113.1 across a population of 192,000 In historic times, this former Aztec city was a common point of travel for Catholic missionaries Yautepec also features some of the most moderate climates in Mexico so it is a frequent site of local festivals and is popular destination for swimming The rate of violence stands at 97.2 with a population of 108,000 Like Tijuana, Tecate is a popular entry point into Mexico from California and is host to a variety of manufacturing industries including textiles this city has issues with drug trafficking and violent crime The current population is 112,000 with a homicide rate of 95.2 with a homicide rate of 91.6 across a population of 108,000 Tijuana is Mexico's second most populous area after Mexico City Its placement near the border has also made it consistently one of the most violent cities in the country jobs in industries like automotive manufacturing keep people flocking to Tijuana and many Americans are likely to pass through the city if entering Mexico by land This beach town south of Mexico City was once ranked among the top tourist destinations in Mexico thanks to its lavish resorts and cruise ship docks Its position on Mexico's Pacific coast has also made it a staple of the shipping industry Unfortunately, recent years have been hard on Acapulco with cartels installing local criminal markets and would-be tourists warned away from visiting the port city The homicide rate stands at 74.7 for a population of 789,000 This capital of the state of Colima features shipping ports as well as nearby agricultural industry These things make the city relevant economically but also make it an opportune place for criminal activity and drug cartel battles The current homicide rate is 72.2 for a population of 163,000 To track instances of homicide in certain locations statisticians have come up with a standard known as the homicide rate which is the number of homicides reported per 100,000 residents over a given period of time On a national scale, Mexico's homicide rate has pinged up and down falling throughout the 1990s to a rate roughly comparable to that of the United States possibly coinciding with increases of opioid and methamphetamine use in the U.S The rate reached its peak in 2018 with 29.58 homicide deaths per 100,000 and now appears to be slowly dropping once again over the past five years Violence against women is also a particular concern for the Mexican government, as female victims have proportionally increased 135 percent since 2015 The most likely problems connected to these homicide trends are drug trafficking money laundering operations and corrupt police forces which are alleged to be under control by organized crime groups cities in Mexico are often witness to gang violence Mexico also contains hundreds of more rural areas which are relatively free of local criminal gangs and drug cartel conflict Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: `;return t.byline_authors_html&&(e+=`By: ${t.byline_authors_html}`),t.byline_authors_html&&t.byline_date_html&&(e+=" | "),t.byline_date_html&&(e+=t.byline_date_html),e+=`\n\t\t\t\t Threats From Ernesto Impacting US Coastal Areas Tropical Storm Beatriz made landfall on Mexico's Pacific coast near Puerto Angel on June 1 bringing with it heavy rainfall and mudslides for southern Mexico Six people were killed in the torrential rains (MORE: Hurricane Central) Heavy rain soaked parts of Mexico's coastal Oaxaca state. Puerto Angel reported more than 11 inches of total rainfall from the tropical cyclone through June 2 However, due to its slow movement up to 15 inches of rain may have fallen in Mexico's Oaxaca state Heavy rain is also anticipated in the Yucatan peninsula with houses buried and travel impacted in the state of Oaxaca At least six people were killed according to Mexico Daily News One of the deaths was a woman that was killed in San Carlos Yautepec by a landslide. Another landslide swept away and killed a minor in San Marcial Ozolotepec (MORE: Latest Impacts From Beatriz) Early season tropical cyclones are common in the East Pacific with the first tropical storm forming around June 10 on average A tropical storm forms in the first 10 days of June roughly once every 5 years in the East Pacific Basin Although this system is not expected to directly impact the United States storms early in the season can bring moisture northward (MORE: Here's How Eastern Pacific Tropical Cyclones Can Affect the United States) which is about a half-month earlier than the Atlantic season The earlier start date is due to warmer waters and typically weaker wind shear earlier in the season as compared to the Atlantic We recognize our responsibility to use data and technology for good We may use or share your data with our data vendors The Weather Channel is the world's most accurate forecaster according to ForecastWatch, Global and Regional Weather Forecast Accuracy Overview Tropical Storm Beatriz made landfall on Mexico's Pacific coast near Puerto Angel on June 1 Six people were killed in the torrential rains.  (MORE: Hurricane Central) Heavy rain soaked parts of Mexico's coastal Oaxaca state. Puerto Angel reported more than 11 inches of total rainfall from the tropical cyclone through June 2.  However, due to its slow movement up to 15 inches of rain may have fallen in Mexico's Oaxaca state with houses buried and travel impacted in the state of Oaxaca At least six people were killed according to Mexico Daily News One of the deaths was a woman that was killed in San Carlos Yautepec by a landslide. Another landslide swept away and killed a minor in San Marcial Ozolotepec (MORE: Latest Impacts From Beatriz) Early season tropical cyclones are common in the East Pacific with the first tropical storm forming around June 10 on average (MORE: Here's How Eastern Pacific Tropical Cyclones Can Affect the United States) which is about a half-month earlier than the Atlantic season. The earlier start date is due to warmer waters and typically weaker wind shear earlier in the season as compared to the Atlantic \\nThreats From Ernesto Impacting US Coastal Areas The area covered by marijuana and opium poppy plantations that were destroyed by the military between January and May was the lowest in five years Information provided to the newspaper Milenio by the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) shows that the army destroyed 615.5 hectares of marijuana crops between January 1 and May 9 an average monthly eradication of 143.1 hectares The monthly average is 70% less than the area of marijuana plantations destroyed in the same period of 2014 and 33% less than that eradicated from January to May of last year Information supplied by Sedena also shows that Oaxaca has become a major marijuana-producing state seven of the 10 municipalities where the largest areas of marijuana plantations were destroyed were located in the so-called Golden Triangle region of Chihuahua The other three municipalities in the top 10 were Álamos six of the 10 municipalities with the largest areas of plantations destroyed by the military were in Oaxaca Villa Sola de Vega and Santa Lucía Miahuatlán The other four municipalities in the top 10 this year were Badiraguato Chihuahua – which took out the top three spots; and Guachochi the military destroyed 774 hectares of marijuana in Sinaloa 432 hectares in Durango and 408 hectares in Chihuahua Almost 90% of all marijuana crops eradicated last year were located in those four states Sedena data shows that the military destroyed 6,704 hectares of poppy crops between January 1 and May 9 more than 10 times greater than the area in which marijuana plantations were destroyed the monthly eradication average of 1,559 hectares was the lowest in the past five years the military destroyed an average of 1,804 hectares of opium poppies per month the military has eradicated large areas of poppy plantations in the mountains of Guerrero and the Golden Triangle region the army destroyed 7,495 hectares of the plant in Guerrero 5,740 hectares in Durango and 4,917 hectares in Chihuahua Source: Milenio (sp)  The emigration of men to the United States threatens indigenous systems of governance in Mexico the weight of activities in small towns falls on women but despite this women are still fighting for space in the political arena The system of "uses and customs" that governs 418 of the 570 municipalities in the state of Oaxaca Mexico is based on social and traditional political practices in indigenous communities founded on community work and assemblies that elect authorities parallel to the party-based election system these practices have faced a persistent enemy since the 1960s: emigration the continual departure of large portions of a community takes a real toll on politics and lives and the flow of people away from Oaxacan lands is leaving behind gaps in the towns' social and political organizations The Institute for Migrant Assistance (IOAM) estimates that around 2 million Oaxacans live in the United States; the population of the entire state is 3.1 million 98 out of every 100 migrants that left Mexico went to the United States The figure on a national level is 89 of every 100 individuals The majority of immigrants are indigenous and work as day laborers in agriculture According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) of the 570 municipalities that make up Oaxaca the municipality of San Juan Quiahije in the coastal region and San Bartolome Quialana in the Central Valleys are the top two towns within the national context with the highest levels of migration "Oaxaca is the second-poorest state in Mexico. The minimum wage in Mexico is approximately 49.50 Mexican pesos per eight-hour day of work. In Oaxaca there are far too many people who earn less than the national minimum wage," according to the Migrant Counseling Center of Oaxaca's website when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect in 1994 imported corn became 30 percent cheaper than local corn This caused the emigration of small-scale farmers away from rural regions The result has been the "abandonment of the countryside and rural areas and the loss of cultural traditions," according to the website Migration away from the region has historically been predominantly male. According to INEGI, of every 10 emigrants from Oaxaca, eight were men. There are many reasons women stay behind. The risk of death in the desert or during river crossings that are required to get into the United States without documentation is one of them taking care of the land and providing for the family also fall to women especially given that they do not always receive remittances from the husband who leaves This has also brought consequences for women who historically only participated in domestic activities within communities governed by "uses and customs." "When the men leave, women stay and then begin to fulfill their designated cargos in schools, in community projects, in community service; even the responsibility for the survival of the household falls on women," said Carmen Alonso Santiago, an indigenous Zapotec woman and director of the non-governmental organization Flor y Canto (Flower and Song) the necessity of assuming cargos (volunteer community service positions) and roles within the community is one of the principle ways that women begin to deepen their political participation the departure of men brings greater obligations for women but also opens greater possibilities and opportunities for the strengthening of women's emancipation in communities Teotitlán del Valle is a Oaxacan town governed by "uses and customs." It has 8,000 inhabitants with a deeply-rooted tradition of weaving wool The colorful tapestries and the clothes for cold weather are well-known in different parts of Mexico everything was done within an artisan system from the washing of the wool to the creation of dyes; the tradition is to make natural dyes using flowers Things have changed somewhat recently - some weavers use chemical dyes pieces are woven to reflect the legends and history of the community There is no house without at least one loom and the art of weaving is taught to children beginning at the age of 10 a group of women from Teotitlán decided to form a cooperative We had to provide for our families," Pastora Gutiérrez Reyes our brothers: The young men finished middle school and then left Our group formed as a way to find options for work That's how we started to work in the fields and to weave," she said they also participate in political work with other women in the community "In the beginning of the cooperative they criticized us a lot Can you imagine a group of women organizing ourselves 17 years ago a moment arrived when the women of the cooperative took the initiative to introduce themselves to the local authorities they began to take us into account as a group of women Other women began to see our participation mainly those who had husbands outside the country or who were widows," Reyes recalled "We are now taken into consideration in the social and political realms When there are official or political events Men saw how women organized themselves and how their political work has good results The "uses and customs" system has been valorized and defended by communities for centuries To get an idea of these low levels of participation in the state of Oaxaca according to the State Electoral Institute of Citizen Participation in Oaxaca women participated in "uses and customs" systems at a rate of 1.68 percent and in political party systems at a rate of 5.2 percent the conditions for women vary widely because everything is based on what is determined by the "uses and customs" of each town "There are communities where women fight for their rights and others where they don't as much," Santiago told Truthout "There are communities where currently it is not permitted for a woman to be elected as an authority and in other communities women are not taken into consideration to even raise their hands in the assemblies and fulfill their role in other ways But there are other places where for many years women have participated in assemblies Mexico's National Human Rights Commission in its publication titled "Political Participation of Women in Mexico," based on the elections in October 2007 mapped the participation of women in the cargo system in municipalities governed by "uses and customs." This year 361 municipalities were registered as part of the "uses and customs" system The inquiry demonstrates that there are several combinations of criteria that determine which women vote women are not allowed to vote (15.8 percent); in 15 only single women and widows are allowed to vote Forty-eight municipalities did not give statistics Women are part of the city council - either as members or in some rare cases as mayors - in 21 municipalities (5.6 percent) Only 48 municipalities (12.9 percent) have women members of the municipal administration as treasurers auditors and in administrative commissions Women participate more as members of committees - they appear in 195 municipalities (52.3 percent) - that have been formed through the initiatives of public institutions such as the comprehensive development of the family institutions in the health and education sectors The participation of women in these types of committees is more readily accepted because they are seen as an extension of the roles women already fulfill in the domestic sphere they appear in 14 municipalities (3.8 percent) only Fifty-six municipalities (15 percent) register that women fulfill obligatory cargos in the following categories: religious and traditional although in only six municipalities are police positions given as cargos to women In 64 municipalities (17.2 percent) community serviceis obligatory for women While cargos are carried out by individuals authorized by the assembly community service is a one-time activity that the whole community participates in generally occurring on important days such as during festivals or collective community work (tequio) women do services during traditional festivities; in 12 municipalities (3.2 percent) women are the organizers of such festivities Another 31 municipalities (8.3 percent) decide the community service of women in diverse community tequios According to the Human Rights Commission's report the low political participation and presence of women within local government structures can be explained through two factors and the contrast between the official report and the nuanced personal experiences women describe is marked "The structural nature of this social inequality is reflected in a rate of human development that is almost 15 percent lower than the non-indigenous population due to the prevalence of 'uses and customs' that exclude the participation of women at high rates." the report states that women's participation "in public municipal spaces can be seen as an extension of their roles in the private space of home and family given that their roles are connected to family and procreation: education milk stores); the same institutions that develop programs for social benefit always require this type of 'participation' by women in the community sphere." Verónica Vázquez García, a professor in the postgraduate college in Texcoco, Mexico, who researched women's political participation in the system of "uses and customs," wrote "women realize innumerable tasks necessary for community development but are rarely recognized and have little decision-making power The traditional gender roles not only do not change these forms of discrimination that are deeply rooted in the political life of each municipality." Oaxacan Congresswoman Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza as president of the Directive Body of the State Congress presented a constitutional reform initiative in Congress that would guarantee the active and passive right to vote for women in municipalities governed by "uses and customs" and would take steps to create a Board of Equality and Gender in all of the state's local councils only Cruz Mendoza is from an indigenous municipality that is governed by "uses and customs" - Santa María Guiegolina Cruz Mendoza was elected president of her municipality in 2007 and the results were nullified based on traditional laws that stipulated that women cannot be elected to that position The system of "uses and customs" is much more than a system of cargos It is based on the construction of a daily life in which the role of women is fundamental "We are talking about their own ways of living in community of fighting against those who would exploit our lands And women are present in all of these processes," Santiago said She defined what has permitted communities to maintain their "uses and customs" over time "I feel that we have deep roots as an indigenous town but that is still very rooted in our values And all this is transmitted with education and women are the principle teachers." Santiago remembers the decisive entry of her grandmothers in the system of "uses and customs" although they didn't participate in the cargo system "The grandmothers did not participate in assemblies but have always been the advisers of the community They were sought after to resolve internal marriage problems to the house to talk with the grandmothers And they called other grandmothers who were also highly respected And the women gave their advice to the mayor and told him how he had to behave who lives in the Isthmus of Tehúantepec and is part of the Peoples' Popular Assembly of Juchitán And the small-scale farmers work the land and the women make and sell the products." there is equal participation of men and women The roles of communal living and survival are well-defined It is women who are pushing a process to raise their level of participation." 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