Abandoned Houses Fuel 7 Years of Crime in Jesús Carranza

For about seven years, residents of Mérida’s colonia Jesús Carranza have watched abandoned houses on their streets turn into hideouts. Now they say the problem has gotten too big to ignore.

Neighbors describe break-ins at homes and businesses, stolen wiring and fixtures, and physical attacks. They link much of it to a group of roughly 20 to 30 people who use the neighborhood’s vacant properties as shelter.

“This is a problem that’s more than seven years old,” said María Ofelia Pérez Milán, president of the colonia’s neighborhood watch, known as the Policía Vecinal.

The trouble goes beyond theft, she said. In one recent case, a woman coming home from work was attacked by one of the people who regularly use the empty houses.

Residents say computers, televisions, sound equipment and electrical cable have gone missing from homes and shops. People have also been tapping water and electricity lines. In some lots, trash and cables have been set on fire. One local business has an alarm that goes off when someone gets inside, and neighbors say it often rings all weekend until employees arrive Monday to shut it off.

Pérez Milán pointed to one property on Calle 38 between 37 and 39, where she said intruders now come and go as a matter of routine. Another resident, Álvaro Castilla, said his property on Calle 33 between 36 and 36-A was robbed. Cameras recorded the break-in, he said, but no one was arrested.

Some neighbors have stopped reporting crimes at all. Víctor Sulub, who lives in the colonia, said people fear the suspects will find out who called the police and come after them.

Pérez Milán credits municipal officers with answering 911 calls and supporting the neighborhood since residents began organizing. But she said their powers are limited. Suspects are sometimes held for about three days, residents said, then released. They go back to the same abandoned houses, and the cycle starts again.

A few days ago, residents met with Mérida Municipal Police and other officials and handed over a file of evidence and reports they had gathered. Authorities gave them about 15 days to hear back on what steps might be taken.

Ownership is another obstacle. Neighbors have tried to track down the owners of the empty properties, but have not been able to identify all of them. Pérez Milán questioned whether fines can work when no one can be found to pay them or keep up the lots. Unclear titles have also left properties in limbo in the Centro Histórico.

The complaints come as Mérida holds onto its standing as one of Mexico’s safest large cities. In a federal survey released in July, 38.2% of adults in Mérida said they felt unsafe in their city, compared with 59.8% nationwide. That was up from 33.7% in March. Violent crime remains rare, but burglary and petty theft tend to shape how safe people feel from day to day.

Jesús Carranza has deep working-class roots. It was laid out on land expropriated under Gov. Salvador Alvarado in the 1910s so that railroad workers could live close to their jobs.

Residents say more arrests alone won’t fix things. They are asking officials for a lasting solution to the abandoned properties so the houses stop serving as a base for crime.

With reporting from Diario de Yucatán and Sol Yucatán, with survey data from INEGI