The so-called floor right, a fee that organized crime charges tenants, producers or farmers to provide them with protection, caused inflation to rise by more than two percentage points, according to the Laboratory of Analysis in Commerce, Economy and Business (Lacen) at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
The coordinator of Lacen, José Ignacio Martínez Cortés, said that although the inflation in the first half of September of this year was 4.44 percent, with the uncertainty it increased to 7.77 percent.
In an analysis, he specified that, although inflation is decreasing, organized crime is formed as a cartel that determines the prices of production, distribution and sale, in addition to determining the time and quantity of the harvest. and making things.
He said that the main or agricultural activities where crime has the largest presence in the country and, because of this, extortion affects the prices of the producer, whose payment will ultimately affect inflation for the final consumer.
To reflect the incidence of organized crime in the inflation of agricultural products, the lemon stands out, whose price, per kilo, in Michoacán is 13 pesos, he said.
However, he stressed, that the floor on the right it will be more expensive at 50 pesos, the wholesalers will buy the product and sell it at 60 pesos later, the retailers will buy it and then sell it at 70 pesos, so the last consumer pays per kilo. tianguis or in the market for 80 or 85 pesos.
He pointed out that the agricultural cities that suffer the most from extortion by organized crime are Irapuato, with 40.3 percent; Uruapan, 36.8 percent; Oaxaca, 33.3 percent; Xalapa, 26.7 percent; Coatzacoalcos, 26.6 percent; Aguascalientes, 25.6 percent and Pachuca, 24.7 percent.
He mentioned that the area with the greatest uncertainty for the transport of agricultural products is concentrated in the central region of the country (Puebla, State of Mexico and Veracruz).
He pointed out that until now in 2023, theft against cargo transportation has increased to 73.5 percent on highways.
Martínez Cortés pointed out that the highway sections with the highest incidence of theft are: Mexico-Puebla-Veracruz; Mexico Querétaro and Córdoba-Orizaba.
He emphasized that these routes lead to customs in Cd. Juárez, Matamoros, Piedras Negras, Cd. Acuña, Sonoyta, representing 51.77 percent of the total customs clearance operations in the country.
According to the Lacen-UNAM coordinator, the shortcomings of a rule of law where corruption prevails and organized crime prevails, can be seen in the loss of 19 percent of the internal wealth generated in our society.
“The Government must protect the internal market by strengthening public security in production, distribution and final sale of production. At these three levels the presence of organized crime must be reduced. The dominance and predominance of companies must also be fought,” he said.
Martínez Cortés stated that the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection must protect the main points of production in agriculture and manufacturing to stop the participation of organized crime, which is formed as a monopoly that affects the prices of production, distribution and sales, in addition to determining timing and quantity of harvest of agricultural products and manufacture of goods.
