Gun-Trade Program Predicts Increase
 RUMBO de México
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August 03, 2009
| | Now in its third year, the Arms Exchange Program has 23 stations in boroughs and municipalities in the valleys of Mexico and Toluca. | |
A program in the State of Mexico (Edomex) with the purpose of reducing crime by allowing people to trade their arms for appliances or cash expects to receive more than 50 guns in two weeks.
The program began its second collection phase July 27 and ends this week. The 450,000-peso, state-funded, anonymous project gives gun owners TVs, microwaves, irons, coffee makers, computers or living room sets depending on the gun's type and condition, said Efraín Angeles Ruiz, the State Security Agency's (ASE) Public Relations director. The government partners with businesses to provide those appliances and furniture, he said.
During the first phase in May, authorities collected seven handguns, five shotguns and an assault rifle. The family that traded in an AK-47 assault rifle received a computer, a coffee maker and an iron.
"That has been the most eye-opening case," Angeles said. They were given those appliances "because the gun was in good condition."
Now in its third year, the Arms Exchange Program has 23 stations in boroughs and municipalities in the valleys of Mexico and Toluca, operated by the National Secretariat of Defense (Sedena) and the ASE.
The program began giving owners the choice between appliances and cash for arms in May, making the trade more tempting, Angeles said.
"We decided that instead of appliances that were traded depending on the type of gun, it would be better to give cash so that gun owners would be more attracted to the program," Angeles said.
Sedena prices the guns, and large arms are worth 3,000 pesos. Guns greater than 38 mm, have a trade-in value of 2,500 pesos, while smaller calibers fetch 1,000 pesos.
Angeles expects the cash incentive and a longer trade-in period to triple the amount of guns collected compared to the first phase in May. On Friday, for example, the Tlalnepantla Town Hall station collected eight pistols alone.
One of the stations also exchanged a machine gun and a 5.56 caliber hunting rifle for 6,000 pesos.
"The two guns belonged to my grandpa," said the owner who preferred to remain anonymous. "They were stored away in a suitcase for 20 years, and I had to pay some bills today. I'm broke and unemployed, and this (money) helps a lot." |
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News Around the Republic of Mexico | August 2009 
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