Mexico's missing persons chief steps down amid accusations of data manipulation

The head of Mexico’s commission in charge of searching for thousands of missing people resigned on Wednesday amid criticism that the government is manipulating the official statistics ahead of the upcoming presidential elections. 

The head of the National Search Commission, Karla Quintana, said she was stepping down “in light of current circumstances,” without elaborating on the subject. 

“The challenges surrounding the disappearance of people remain,” Quintana posted on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter. “The State must continue to push for a comprehensive policy geared toward prevention, searching and fighting impunity.”

According to Quintana’s commission figures, there are currently around 110,000 individuals who have disappeared in the country. The figure, however, is thought to be an undercount due to lack of reporting.

According to the Mexican government, missing persons are those whose whereabouts are unknown and whose absence is presumed, based on any evidence, to be related to the commission of a crime.

Additionally, ADN America reported last year more than 52,000 human remains continue to be unidentified from mass graves that have been discovered in the country. 

The resignation of the head of the National Search Commission comes less than a month after Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador declared that the number of missing persons in the country is lower than the official figure and that he would seek to update the census.

Critics, however, are accusing the government of manipulating the official statistics to make it look as if the number of missing people is decreasing to make officials look good ahead of the 2024 presidential elections. 

Lopez Obrador seemed to approve of Quintana’s resignation. Her decision “closed a circle, and we are free,” he said during his Thursday morning news conference. 

The president stated that the Ministry of the Interior and its head, Luisa María Alcalde, will be in charge of appointing Quintana’s replacement. 

Lopez Obrador added that progress is being made in the search for missing persons "as it has never been done before."

"Don't worry, we are making progress in the search and it doesn't depend on one colleague, no matter how responsible she is, no matter how efficient she is, no matter how committed she is, it depends on all of us and there are many of us working on this," he continued.