The Mexican government is offering up to $1,300 to citizens who turn in firearms, including machine guns and assault rifles, as part of a citizen disarmament initiative aimed at lowering violent crime.
The financial incentives for persons who drop off guns at church collection stations were announced late Monday in the country’s official gazette.
They are 8,700 pesos ($430) for a revolver, 25,000 pesos ($1,200) for an AK-47 rifle, and 26,450 pesos ($1,300) for a machine gun. Last month, President Claudia Sheinbaum invited locals to participate in the “Yes to Disarmament, Yes to Peace” campaign, assuring those who were sceptical that they would not face prosecution if they surrendered their weapons.
“It’s about setting up places like the lobbies of churches where people can go to turn in their weapons voluntarily, and give them economic incentives to give up their firearms,” she told me.
“We also had it in Mexico City, and it had significant results,” said the former mayor of the capital city, which has a population of over nine million people. Mexico is rife with violent crime tied to the multibillion-dollar illegal drug trade.
According to preliminary estimates from the national statistics institute, the country recorded 31,062 homicides in 2023, with weapons accounting for 70% of the total. Mexico closely controls gun sales, making them nearly impossible to obtain legally, and has frequently pushed Washington to address cross-border guns trafficking.
