Warning in Yucatan: "the safest state in the country" records 5 times more deaths by suicide than by homicide

The state of Yucatán checked in 246 deaths by suicide in 2018, a historical maximum five times higher than the number of intentional homicides committed by the entity in the same year, which was 48. This means that 11.2 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

Thus, the safest state in the country, according to the study "Index of Peace Mexico 2018", is also one of the places where more people take their lives.

Faced with this growing phenomenon, state authorities have conducted research to understand the causes why so many people commit suicide.

The high incidence is a product of three accented problems: Conflicts parents, consumption of alcoholic beverages and drug use.

Víctor Roa, local director of the Center for the Integration of Young People, said The country that there is a serious problem of alcoholism because it is present in the 65% of suicides in Yucatan, national leader in the abuse of ethyl. Last year alone, the state recorded more than 10,300 cases of intoxication for alcohol.

The majority of victims are men

Statistics also show that 8 out of every 10 suicide victims are men. In 2018, for example, only in 42 out of 246 cases checked in, the deceased was a woman.

This means that the man is 5 times more likely to commit suicide that the woman The figure is related to the violence that this sector of the population lives in the state. For example, 8 out of 10 men suffered or exercised badist or badual violence. In addition, 6 out of 10 they had expressed their desire to die.

After badyzing the medical records of the victims, the authorities found that the majority had under 40and at least half of them had given warning signals that had not been heard.

Poverty, another important factor

Yucatan is the state with the highest percentage of Aboriginal population, although 75% of the population believes that there is discrimination against the Mayans. In addition, a 42% of the population lives in poverty and with social backwardness.

Gaspar Baquedano, director of the comprehensive suicide treatment program, told the Spanish newspaper that this idea is synthesized into a single idea, namely: Most victims are of Aboriginal descent; It is significant that 8 out of 10 suicides had at least one family name of Maya origin.

Yucatán also has an infrastructure problem; Well, even if 74 psychiatrists, 72 are located in Mérida while the other 105 municipalities have only 2 specialists. In addition, the state capital is the only place with a psychiatric hospital and a large part of the population. Medical staff is not trained take care of the population at risk.

A priority problem in the state

After the state had ignored the problem for years, in June 2017, they adopted their first mental health law, in which a budget of 7% to the sector with the goal promote follow-up policies that reduce the Suicide rate in the state.

The goal is for business to fall 15% by the end of 2019. Until February, 30 suicides, one 21% less than the same period last year Manuel Díaz explained to The country.

According to the local press, there were three suicides in one weekend, which demonstrates the seriousness of the problem in the state. However, it is one of the few entities to recognize this situation.

In the rest of the country, the suicide is an almost invisible problemthere is no federal law on psychiatry, nor prevention strategies, nor sufficient infrastructure or budget.

Suicide exploded in Mexico

Although in the Americas there are 20 countries with more annual suicides than Mexico, the phenomenon has exploded over the past decade in this country.

In 2017, the number was 6,559 cases, 50% more than 10 years ago. In this respect, the Spanish newspaper emphasizes that the number of cases has increased fivefold in the last three decades despite the fact that the population has increased only by 50%, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).