It is discouraging to read the figures about deaths, shoot-outs, arrestees and people that have been mutilated as a result of drug violence in Mexico. But it is even worse to constantly find images of corpses or body parts lying in pools of blood that look barely human or to listen to the news against a background of shooting and gun smoke.

We could try to put events into perspective. We could use figures to show that wars are much more violent, that the number of deaths counted are always in addition to a vague number of missing persons and an increase in poverty due to the countless people that have had to move. However, one could say that the homicide rates are higher in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and many other Latin American countries or that drug trafficking is much more serious in the United States and Europe. However, it is impossible to get rid of the perception of constant danger and easy to give in to fear. But above all, it is worth stopping for a minute to wonder: Who profits from our fear and what role can photography play in this issue?

Alejandro Malo

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