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This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Crisis Group experts Praveen Donthi, Pauline Bax and Falko Ernst about recent elections in India, South Africa and Mexico and what they mean for the countries’ policies at home and abroad. 

En este evento en línea, Falko Ernst, analista senior de México para International Crisis Group, habla sobre los retos a los que se enfrentará la nueva presidenta de México con las expertas Gabriela Warkentin y Lisa Sánchez.

Over the past seven decades, more than 100,000 Mexicans have gone missing and never been heard from again. Crisis Group expert Angélica Ospina reports on the intrepid searchers who hold government officials accountable and spearhead their own investigations to find their loved ones.

Mexican voters go to the polls on 2 June to elect a new president. In this Q&A, Crisis Group expert Falko Ernst explains who is likely to win, the security challenges she will face, and what the result might mean for U.S.-Mexican ties.

Mexico’s outgoing president has deployed more soldiers than ever to fight crime. But levels of violence remain high. His successor should set limits to the military’s role in public safety while working to sever state officials’ ties to criminals and allow better civilian law enforcement. 

Social media is becoming a major source of information about violent crime in Mexico, with many hotspots too dangerous for journalists. But much of what appears is inaccurate or misleading, posted by criminal groups themselves. Platforms should adapt their policies to minimise the risks.

More and more women are joining the criminal outfits battling for turf in Mexico, heightening the dangers these groups pose. To arrest this trend, and to help offenders leave these groups, authorities should cooperate with civil society to provide alternative pathways to earning a living.

Organised crime in Mexico has gone local, as cartels break up into sub-groups battling over smaller patches of turf. At the same time, the federal government has wrested policing away from town halls. A reset is needed to re-empower municipal officials to protect the public.

As crime rises in Mexico, women are in particular danger – of “disappearance”, kidnapping, sexual assault and murder. The state has taken some steps to address this crisis, but it can do much more.