Violence in the Laguna

Yesterday, readers of El Siglo de Torreón learned that the number of murders in the Laguna in 2009 has already doubled from last year. At the present rate, almost 550 people will be murdered in the Laguna this year, more than ever before.

At the same time, the city never felt more anarchic, more frightening than it did last summer, when the present wave of violence was just beginning in earnest. In recent months, I've heard people comment time and again about how everything has calmed down here in the last few months. In fact, just the opposite is true. Part of this is explained by the arrival of the Federal Police and the army (they began patrolling in force in August 2008), which offers some reassurance that there are groups more powerful than the criminals in town. Another factor in the perception gap is the fact that newspapers don't ignore crime quite as studiously as they did a year ago, which means people are no longer so reliant on (often exaggerated) rumor for their information. But more than anything, I think it shows the rather admirable ability of humans to adapt and thrive despite worsening circumstances.