This article by Arturo Daen originally appeared in the September 8, 2025 edition of Sin Embargo.
Mexico City. [Cuauhtémoc mayor] Alessandra Rojo de la Vega shook her fist and joined the chants of “Out with Morena!” that began the opposition march she called for Sunday, August 31. From a platform, she leveled accusations against the cherry party [Morena], asserted that she wasn’t “posh,” and spoke of creating a new “national agreement.” Banners with her face and the words “Together… in 2027 we will regain our voice in Congress” could be seen on the corners of the Foro Lindbergh in the Condesa neighborhood.
The Mayor of Cuauhtémoc, supported in her “resistance” by figures such as businessman Claudio X. González, and PAN politicians Xóchitl Gálvez and Margarita Zavala [wife of former President Felipe Calderón], seeks to take over the opposition leadership heading into the midterm elections, or even beyond, and spoke of several mobilizations in the future. All this, she assured, without neglecting her work in the Mayor’s Office.
Alessandra Rojo is known for illegally removing sculptures of Fidel Castro & Che Guevera, but in 2018 made a trip to Cuba, where she posed in front of a mural of Cuban revolutionary Camilo Cienfuegos, is a member of the PRI, known for its historical defense of the Cuban Revolution, and quoted Che Guevara on her Twitter/X account in June.
“I have to fulfill my promise to those who trusted me and run the best government in the history of the Cuauhtémoc City Hall,” she told the press.
But what results has her government achieved so far?
SinEmbargo‘s Data Unit reviewed official reports and found that in the Mayor’s Office the number of missing persons cases and extortion cases doubled in the first half of the year. To date, it remains the district with the most crimes in the nation’s capital, considering its size and population.
Furthermore, according to surveys by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), 83 percent of City Hall residents complain about potholes, and 70 percent believe that Rojo de la Vega’s administration has been little or not at all effective in resolving problems. Regarding the perception of insecurity, it rose from 51.7 percent in September 2024 to 53.4 percent last June.
When asked about this by SinEmbargo, the government of the businesswoman argued that disappearances have increased in other areas of the country, that security is a shared responsibility with the central government, and that Cuauhtémoc should be considered to have a daily “floating population” of between 3 and 5 million people, which affects crime statistics.
Regarding problems like potholes, the government acknowledged that the problem is far from resolved, although they attributed it to climate, soil type, and other factors.
Disappearances Increase in Cuauhtémoc
Rojo de la Vega began her administration in October 2024 after winning the election with the Va por México alliance, made up of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the National Action Party (PAN), and the Party of the Democratic Revolutionary (PRD). De la Vega competed against Catalina Monreal [now Director General of the National Institute of Social Economy in the federal government], daughter of Ricardo Monreal [Morena Deputy]. The results were close: Alessandra obtained 156,449 votes, while Monreal obtained 145,153 votes.
Data from the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons (RNPDNO) show that between January and July of last year, 85 cases of disappearances were recorded in Cuauhtémoc. And during the same period in 2025—now under the Rojo de la Vega administration—the number soared to 177. An increase of 108 percent.
Missing persons in Cuauhtémoc
Regarding this, the government told SinEmbargo that disappearances have increased not only in Cuauhtémoc but also throughout the rest of the city. In Mexico City, in general, they increased 95 percent between January and July, rising from 672 to 1,314 cases.
In Iztapalapa, they increased by 129 percent, going from 117 in 2024 to 269 this year. In Miguel Hidalgo, they increased by 92 percent; in Coyoacán, by 171 percent; in Benito Juárez, by 195 percent; in Tlalpan, by 140 percent; and in Gustavo A. Madero, by 44 percent.
Thus, the increase in cases in Cuauhtémoc was higher than the overall record for Mexico City, and higher than that of Miguel Hidalgo and Gustavo A. Madero, two other municipalities with high “floating” populations.
Furthermore, between January and August 25, Cuauhtémoc ranked second in the cumulative number of disappearances, also behind only Iztapalapa, although this borough has a much larger area and population.
In its response to the issue of disappearances, the Mayor’s office boasted that it is implementing measures to prevent and restore public spaces.
“Examples of this include the scrappage operations, the removal of street vendors, anti-party operations, and the organization of public spaces,” she noted in her written message.
Alessandra Rojo de la Vega was the target of a curious and unsuccessful assassination attempt during her 2024 election campaign, made even more puzzling by her later defense of the suspect.
The Municipality with the Most Crimes per Square Kilometer
Data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP) show that the crime rate in Cuauhtémoc—counting all offenses—decreased 2.95 percent, from 19,213 to 18,647 investigation files, also comparing January-July 2024 and 2025.
Intentional homicides fell 22 percent; femicides fell 80 percent, with only one case recorded between January and July; and pedestrian robbery decreased 7 percent.
On the other hand, extortion cases increased 127 percent, going from 40 investigation files between January and July 2024 to 91 in the same period this year.
Analyzing only high-impact crimes, which, in addition to homicides and femicides, also include kidnapping, rape, robbery of pedestrians, and business robbery, the Citizen Council for Security and Justice estimated that between January and July 2024 and the same period this year, crime rates in Cuauhtémoc increased by 1 percent. In contrast, Coyoacán saw a decrease of 18 percent.
Cuauhtémoc recorded the highest number of high-impact crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, with 587.
Crime rate per 100,000 inhabitants
The Rojo de la Vega administration insisted that this calculation presents “a methodological weakness” when applied to Cuauhtémoc.
“The rate is calculated by dividing the crime rate by the resident population (600,000 people), but in the district, the daily floating population exceeds 3 million people, and reaches up to 5 million on some days. This difference directly impacts the calculation and, in practice, overrepresents the incidence in the district,” she said.
In the SinEmbargo Data Unit, we also reviewed the crime rate per square kilometer, published by the capital’s Prosecutor’s Office.
Between September 2024—one month before Alessandra Rojo took office—and July 2025, the crime rate in Cuauhtémoc grew 5.6 percent. It went from 81.2 crimes per square kilometer to 85.8.
When comparing July 2024 with July 2025, a reduction was observed, albeit minimal, of 1.04 percent.
Also comparing September 2024 with July 2025, crimes against personal liberty increased by 54 percent; and crimes against liberty and sexual safety increased by 48 percent, rising from 106 to 157.
Reductions were only observed in crimes against life, with a -5.3 percent reduction, and in crimes against property, with a -8 percent reduction.
More People are Afraid
Another indicator in which the government of Alessandra Rojo de la Vega has failed to make significant changes is the perception of insecurity.
In September 2024, according to INEGI’s National Urban Public Security Survey (ENSU), 51.7 percent felt unsafe in Cuauhtémoc, and by June 2025, the figure had grown to 53.4 percent, after peaking at 60.3 percent in March.
This level is maintained even though Alessandra Rojo’s administration added expenses, such as a contract signed in January for nearly 28 million pesos for the leasing of 72 2024 and 2025 model vehicles, including pickup trucks, motorcycles, and patrol vehicles for security work.
Security vehicle contract for Cuauhtémoc
Regarding these perception figures, the Cuauhtémoc government highlighted that there was a decrease between March and June 2025, although, as already mentioned, there was a decline compared to the level that existed before Rojo de la Vega’s administration.
“Even the current perception (53 percent) is lower than the national average (63 percent), which incidentally increased during the same period,” the Mayor’s Office defended, adding that “public safety is a shared task: direct responsibility for police command, patrols, and operational personnel falls to the Mexico City Government, while the Mayor’s Office fully assumes its role in prevention and building safe environments.”
The Cuauhtémoc mayor spent last week attempting to mimic the viral photo of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in a crowd of hundreds of thousands, but with a few hundred less-than-focused supporters.
Rojo de la Vega Spends 2 Million Pesos Promoting her Government
Rojo de la Vega is intensely active on Twitter and Instagram, and even on Telegram, where she calls for the opposition protest she calls “the Resistance,” giving “lines of discourse” against Morena and its reforms, although as of August 25, she only managed to accumulate 5,300 followers there.
A search was made on the Cuauhtémoc Transparency page for the mayor’s recent spending on official communications and advertising, but one of the links, instead of offering those amounts, takes you to the Cuauhtémoc councilors’ directory, and another to the mayor’s government program, but from 2021 to 2024.
When asked about this, they responded in their statement that “the mayor’s budget ceiling for 2025 amounts to 4.152 million 238 million pesos. Of that total, 2 million pesos are allocated to social communications, which represents just 0.048 percent of the total budget.”
Institutional communication, they added, is a tool for transparent reporting, but the bulk of the budget is channeled toward service, security, infrastructure, and welfare programs.
Also on the mayor’s website were the “council sessions held” and the information that Alessandra Rojo did not attend any of the 18 meetings included in the list; for example, sessions of the Cuauhtémoc Public Works subcommittee, where expenditures and public works execution are voted on.
In the January 9th meeting, for example, the implementation of patching, rehabilitation of public buildings, sidewalks, and lighting projects for 35 million pesos was approved.
On the mayor’s YouTube channel, however, it presents an image that Alessandra Rojo has personally led the Mayor’s Council meetings, in addition to attending regional roundtables for peace and security.
Regarding her absence from council meetings, the Cuauhtémoc government justified it by saying that the mayor “has favored a style of government that is close and on-the-ground.”
The absences, they mentioned, are due to the fact that the mayor makes daily rounds of the streets of Cuauhtémoc to listen to the people. “However, the mayor has always been represented in these spaces by members of her trusted team, ensuring continuity and attention to each issue.”
Discontent Over Potholes and Lighting
The ENSU also shows that during Alessandra Rojo de la Vega’s administration, the number of people identifying potholes on Cuauhtémoc Street has increased. In September 2024, it was 76.7 percent, and in June 2025, it was 83.5 percent.
In September 2024, 36.3 percent reported neglected parks and gardens in Cuauhtémoc, and by June 2025, this figure had risen to 41.5 percent. There was an improvement in the percentage of those who reported insufficient street lighting, but the level is still high at 55.9 percent.
Also in June 2025, only 27.9 percent considered Cuauhtémoc’s government effective in resolving problems in the mayor’s office, while 71.3 percent said it was somewhat or not at all effective. In contrast, in Iztapalapa, 40.7 percent said it had an effective government.
The percentage of the population that considers the Cuauhtémoc government effective has been declining this year.
This is connected to the low or incomplete level of attention to citizens’ requests for assistance.
According to data from the Citizen Services and Assistance Center, published on the Cuauhtémoc City Transparency page, the response rate for streetlight repair or installation between April and June 2025 was 32 percent. 457 requests were processed, and 968 remain pending.
They responded to 55 percent of complaints or reports about obstacles or misuse of public roads; 20 percent of requests for Administrative Verification Visits; and 55 percent of requests for maintenance of the secondary drinking water and sewage system. Meanwhile, free legal advice was responded to 97 percent of the time.
Between January and March 2025, they generally processed 62 percent of applications, and by April-June this had dropped to 53 percent.
The Rojo de la Vega administration acknowledged the “increase in the perception of ineffectiveness and problems such as potholes,” although it also pointed to the weather as a factor in these failures.
“It must be acknowledged: these figures reflect the impact of climatic factors, the city’s clay subsoil, heavy traffic, and the constant opening of roads for gas, telecommunications, or drainage projects, which weaken the asphalt.”
“Faced with this, the mayor’s office is not trying to deny the problem, but rather to confront it with actions. To date, more than 5,700 potholes have been repaired and more than 28,500 square meters of roads have been resurfaced,” they stated.
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