Two out of three Mexicans consider judges corrupt, Inegi reports

Mexico City. Two out of three Mexicans consider Mexican judges to be corrupt. A survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) placed judges in the penultimate position in terms of the level of trust they generate among citizens out of 10 types of authorities and representatives of security and justice agencies in Mexico.

For citizens, there is only one representative of authority more corrupt than judges: traffic police. According to the National Survey of Victimization and Perception of Public Security (Envipe) 2024, Inegi estimated that the Navy, the Army and the National Guard, in that order, are considered by citizens to be the least corrupt.

On a national scale alone, in 2023, the costs of engaging in corruption were estimated at 11,910.6 million pesos, according to Inegi.

Among the population aged 18 and over, 72 percent identified the traffic police as the most corrupt authority. And between March and April of this year, 64.6 percent of the adult population, practically two out of three, considered judges to be corrupt.

Women have a higher perception of corruption than men in the case of judges, with 66.4 percent versus 62.9 percent, in that order.

Judges, with 60.5 percent, were placed seventh, after the Navy (89.3 percent), the Army (86.7 percent), the National Guard (80.6 percent) and the FGR (65.1 percent), as the authority in which the population has a lot or some confidence.

Men, in general, said they had more confidence (compared to women) in the Navy, the Army, the National Guard and the Attorney General’s Office. However, women have more confidence in judges at 61.2 percent, compared to 59.8 percent among men.

Victimization grows

Inegi estimated that the prevalence of crime in the country, that is, the number of people who reported having been victims of a crime, grew from 2012 to 2017; and from 2017 onwards, a decrease has been reported that has slowed down. However, in 2023, 23,323 victims were reported per 100,000 inhabitants, a significant change compared to 2022, of 22,587 per 100,000 people.