Photo: Wikimedia Commons

By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS     

As 2017 comes to a close, Mexico has reached the dubious distinction of having recorded it most violent year on record, with more than 23,000 murders.

That translates to a disturbing rate of one death every 20 minutes, and at the root of all this increased violence is blatant corruption, a weak judiciary and unbridaled drug cartel power grabs.

According to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP), in the first months of 217 alone, 23,101 new murder investigations were opened, compared to the previous record of 22,855 in 2011.

The states with the highest incidences of murder, according to the SESNSP, were Guerrero, Baja California, the State of Mexico, Veracruz and Chihuahua.