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Facts about Guerrero
Natural Resources :
The State of Guerrero is one which is rich in natural resources. In its 63,596 km2 area, there are extensive beaches, with a coastline that has a length of approximately 500 km, forests, grasslands, jungle and xerophilous scrub.
Despite being one of the states with the greatest biodiversity (fourth place at the national level), the state presents a high degree of deterioration which can be seen in the loss of wild flora and fauna, deforestation, soil erosion, lowering of the water table and the disappearance of rivers in the dry season. This important natural wealth is seriously threatened by the constant destruction of ecosystems through factors such as changes in land use, forest fires, the predation of wild flora and fauna, little or no solid waste management, the expansion of the urban area, among others.
(SEMARNAT, INEGI 2015)
Water/Hydro-electricity :
The state of Guerrero has some of the most important rivers in the country, such as the Balsas River, the Costa Chica River, and the Costa Grande River. This has made possible the construction of a large number of irrigation and hydroelectric dams. The Infiernillo hydroelectric plant supplies electricity to a quarter of Mexico City.
Minerals :
The state of Guerrero, since the times of the conquest, has played an important role in the production of metallic minerals and it was in Taxco where the first mine was opened. It shows signs of mineralization practically in all its territory; limestone, dolomite, marble, gypsum, sand, gravel, clays and quarry production. There is still a lot of mining interest in Guerrero because a large part of its territory has not yet been explored.
The value of state mining production during the period January-December 2017 amounted to 18,700,367,153 million pesos, participating with 93% of the total national value.
In 2017 Guerrero produced 94% of the gold of the entire national product and 7.1% of the stone aggregates.
In 2018, there were 908 concession titles in the state, representing 21.09% of the state's surface.
In the period 2005-2010, the Federal Government granted in mining concessions of 50 years each, about 200,000 hectares of the indigenous territory of La Montaña and Costa Chica in the state of Guerrero for multinational companies to carry out exploration and exploitation activities of open pit minerals, without taking into account territorial rights and the consultation of indigenous peoples. In these areas there are 42 mining deposits, mainly gold and silver.
Source: Report XVI Fight to build the dawn of justice, Tlachinollan La Montaña Human Rights Center, 2011.
(SGM – Mexican Geological Service, 2018)
Agriculture :
59.1% of the state surface is dedicated to agricultural or forestry activities. The state pro-duces sugar cane, yellow corn, white corn, grain wheat, orange, banana, mango, tomato, cucumber, chili, apple, strawberry, raspberry and bean. Forest exploitation is also varied. Pine, oak, cedar and mahogany woods are used.
Flora and Fauna
2,599,377 hectares, that is, 40.9% of Guerrero's surface is covered by natural vegetation, which has not been altered by human activities or by natural events, is distributed as fol-lows:
The state presents all types of vegetation of the temperate, dry tropical and coastal zones. It is estimated that there are more than 6,000 species of plants in the state (there are 30,000 in all of Mexico, or one fifth). Coniferous and oak forests predominate in the upper parts of the Sierra Madre del Sur. There are jungles in the Balsas depression and on the Pacific slope. There are grasslands, mangroves, coastal dunes and different types of aquatic vegetation distributed along the coastal strip and inland slopes, as well as mid-range forests, mountain forests in the most humid parts. Agricultural areas cover 21% of the state’s surface
The fauna of the State is varied and one of the most important at the national level. 1,332 species of vertebrates are reported, of which 326 are in danger of extinction, 114 of these being endemic to Mexico.
According to the UN Environment Program (UNEP), around 90% of Mexico is deforested, at the national level Guerrero ranked first in deforestation in 2011.
Protected Natural Areas
Protected Natural Areas are terrestrial or aquatic portions of the national territory that are representative of the various ecosystems, where the original environment has not been essentially altered and that produce ecological benefits that are increasingly recognized and valued. They are created through a presidential decree and the activities that can be carried out in them are established in accordance with the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection, which also defines its regulations, the management program and the ecological zoning programs. They are subject to special protection, conservation, restoration and development regimes, according to categories established in the Law. Guerrero has six protected natural areas, including three national parks and two sanctuaries.
(CIBIOGEM, ANP 2019)
Three National Parks
These are areas with one or more ecosystems that stand out for their scenic beauty, their scientific, educational, recreational value, their historical value, for the existence of flora and fauna, for their aptitude for the development of tourism, or for other analogous reasons of general interest:
- El Veladero (municipality of Acapulco)
- General Juan N. Alvarez (municipality of Chilapa)
- Cacahuamilpa Grottoes (Pilcaya and Taxco de Alarcon)
Two Sanctuaries
These are zones established in areas characterized by a considerable wealth of flora or fauna or by the presence of species, subspecies or habitats of restricted distribution. They include ravines, meadows, estates, caves, caverns, cenotes, coves or other topographic or geographic units that need to be preserved or protected:
- Tierra Colorada Beach
- Piedra de Tlacoyunque Beach
Migration :
This is a very marked phenomenon in the state: Guerrero occupies first place in terms of internal migration and the fifth place in terms of international migration, in most cases the migrants are men.
- 95% of the inhabitants were born in the state, 4% in another state and 1% in the United States.
- From daily mobility, 3% of the state’s population moves to another state or country to work
- There are two types of migration: agricultural laborers in the dry season, and long-term migration to the United States.
- Agricultural laborers often migrate to work in Sinaloa, Sonora, Baja California, Morelos, and Chihuahua.
(INEGI, 2015)
In Guerrero, the Montaña region is the one that has shown the highest migration rates, as a result of the low prices of seeds and basic grains that are grown in that region. Likewise, the activities with which they complemented their family income have deteriorated, such as livestock, forestry and artisan activities. The scarce health, education, transport and communication services have been a determining factor for the inhabitants of the localities belonging to the mountain region to decide to migrate to other places, inside or outside the State, where they can develop the activities that they carried out on a daily basis in their place of origin, such as agriculture. Despite the bad conditions that exist in there, many people usually return after a period of time.
CDI. 2017
In the United States, there are more than one million 500 thousand Guerrero immigrants living mainly in five cities. Guerrero immigrants are mainly found in the cities of Chicago, where more than 350 thousand reside, followed by Los Angeles California, Santa Ana, Texas, and Atlanta Georgia.
Violence :
In 2019, Guerrero was the second most violent Mexican state after Baja California. In 2018, the homicide rate per one hundred thousand inhabitants was 65.2, one of the highest figures in the country, while the figures for the first months of 2019 showed an increase reaching seven homicides per day, to drop to four homicides per day in the first months of 2020.
- The state is in 20th place for crimes committed nationally in 2020. In 2017 it was in second place.
- Of the 100 municipalities nationwide with the most femicides, two of the municipalities, placed second and third, are located in Guerrero.
- 84.7% of the population that is over 18 years of age has a perception of insecurity in the state (2019), a statistic that in general has been increasing in the last ten years.
In addition, the state has a particular history regarding disappearances, since the Dirty War, a phenomenon that has reappeared in recent years due to the presence of organized crime.
(SESNSP, 2020 SEMAR, 2020. INEGI 2018)
Gender Violence :
The state is in sixth place nationally with regard to intentional homicides of women. During 2019, 190 murders of women were recorded, of which 174 were classified as intentional homicides and 16 as femicides in the state, with an average of 16 homicides of women per month.
Gender Violence Alert was declared in eight municipalities in 2017: Acapulco de Juarez, Ayutla de los Libres, Chilpancingo de los Bravo, Coyuca de Catalan, Iguala de la Independencia, Jose Azueta, Ometepec and Tlapa de Comonfort.
(SEGOB, 2020, SESNSP, 2020)
Organized crime :
The presence of organized crime groups is strong in Guerrero, which has led to deaths, displaced persons, and disappearances. There are very dangerous areas due to the power of these groups, for example Tierra Caliente; Acapulco, Chilpancingo, Costa Grande, Costa Chica and Zona Norte.
The Tlachinollan 2019 report mentions the absence of action by the three levels of government at work to counter criminal groups and the inability to guarantee the safety of the population. In some parts there is no other alternative than to make a pact with crime in order to survive in the absence of institutions that ensure security.
(Report XXV, Tlachinollan, 2019)
Drug Trafficking and Violence :
In the state of Guerrero there are large areas of land with monocultures of poppy and marijuana. In March 2020, the Secretariat of the Navy-Army of Mexico in coordination with the Secretariats of National Defense, Foreign Relations, the Attorney General’s Office and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that The main sowing areas for poppy cultivation are located in the states of Guerrero, Nayarit and in the Golden Triangle (Sinaloa, Chihuahua and Durango).
During 2018, 79% of the destroyed poppy crops were in Guerrero, the majority in the municipality of Heliodoro Castillo (Tlacotepec) in the sierra of the Centro region, and Acatepec in the indigenous region of La Montaña.
The ambition of the different cartels to control the plantations as well as the distribution of poppies and marijuana has generated violence that has left many families, even towns, displaced. A report from the “Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon” Human Rights Center indicates that some 6,500 people have forcibly left their homes due to violence in the state.
(SEDENA2018. 2020)
Militarization :
In Guerrero, the presence of the Armed Forces in public life and particularly in the field of security was a constant during the 20th century. In 2006, the “War against Drug Trafficking” began and in 2011, the federal and Guerrero governments announced the launch of the Coordinated Operation “Safe Guerrero”, sending thousands of military personnel, including special forces, to the state in an attempt to respond to the serious security crisis that the it was experiencing due to the presence of cartels and organized crime.
On the other hand, Guerrero remains one of the most lethal states for members of the Army, with 59 deaths in the context of the permanent campaign against drug trafficking. Several violent clashes have been reported between organized crime and the army, which have not only left a high death toll between both sides but also of civilians.
"It is inconceivable that in a militarized state the population has insecurity as the main problem, and that, furthermore, these security bodies or the armed forces do not generate any confidence"
(Report XVI and XXV Tlachinollan, 2011 2019, SEDENA, 2020)