Excessive and painful deaths | Article by Mario Luis Fuentes

Mario Luis Fuentes.

Death is inevitable; It is an integral part of existence. In the vision of the poet-philosopher Unamuno, this is a great human tragedy; But what makes it tragic is not so much the biological disappearance of man as the realization that, no matter how much he seeks a rational or philosophical justification for his existence, man is always faced with his own finitude. Man, according to Unamuno, fights for immortality, but realizes that he cannot achieve it either materially or logically; and therefore it appears as an incomprehensible mystery, opposing reason and causing melancholy, since any attempt to accept death presupposes a renunciation of life itself.

For its part, Levinas’s philosophy presents death as a constant threat not only to the individual being, but also to the ethical relationship with the other. Death is experienced as a final separation, but also as an event that marks the urgency of responsibility to one’s fellow man. The awareness of death, according to Levinas, is not only a confrontation with one’s own finitude, but also an invitation to recognize the vulnerability of another and respond to his need. In this sense, death becomes a factor that reveals the interdependence and fragility of human life.

Unlike Heidegger, who views death as an ontological horizon that determines existence, Levinas points out that death cannot be reduced to a simple matter of individual existence, but must be understood in its ethical dimension. The death of another implies a responsibility that transcends individual finitude. This philosopher’s ethics requires that the subject not focus solely on his own death, but rather take responsibility for the death of another person, a responsibility that stems from the precariousness and finitude of human life. This is an ethic without any foundation, since it is based on the recognition of a common vulnerability to hunger, disease and everything that defines us as finite beings.

Reading under these coordinates the data on deaths recorded by Inegi in 2023 requires urgent ethical reflection on what are the goals and priorities, hidden and overt, of all social policies in our country. And most of the deaths that are among the leading causes of death occurred in an excessive and therefore scandalous manner, not only because of the numerical magnitude, but also because they are caused precisely by this irresponsibility towards others.

According to official data, 799,869 people died in 2023. This amount represents an average of 2,191 cases per day; or 91 deaths every hour.

Death has a very different geographic distribution in Mexico. To illustrate this, data on the overall mortality rate, that is, the number of deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants, is useful. In Mexico City, where the highest rate is recorded, the figure is 841, while in Baja California Sur, the entity with the lowest value, the figure is 462, almost half that of the country’s capital.

Heart disease, type II diabetes and malignant tumors are the three leading causes of death in the country. There were 390,831 deaths due to these three causes; this figure is equivalent to an average of 1,071 cases per day. A huge magnitude, with dire consequences that begin with the pain of the long illness of those who died, as well as the pain of family members who must say goodbye to their dead.

The issue of mortality from accidents and attacks should be emphasized. The first case killed 40,275 people; while as a result of attacks, that is, deliberate killings, 32,542 people died, most of them victims of armed violence that terrified the entire country.

These data do not include missing persons data; one of the greatest tragedies of all everyday tragedies, because they make tens of thousands of people cry without having a body to say goodbye to; the hours of anguish experienced in these families, where the uncertainty and pain of not knowing where their daughters, sons, brothers, husbands, etc. are, are prolonged and deepened by the despair of not knowing whether they are alive or not. loved ones.

It is true that the number of people killed has decreased compared to 2022, but the decrease is only 3.1%, since last year the record was 33,287 people who were victims of premeditated murder. But it is also true that the deaths caused by the extreme violence plaguing the country are unacceptable and that much more urgently needs to be done to pacify and reconcile Mexico.

Where then is the responsibility that is required of us towards others, our peers, our fellow man? Where is the responsibility for building a social legal state in which one can live and die with dignity? Why can’t we be a country worth living in and where we can spend our time as prosperously as possible?

In this sense, it is appropriate to insist that Mexico must make the prevention of excess mortality a priority; because these are deaths that should not happen; not at the time and not in the way they occur. It is true that there will never be a right time to die; but the fact that this happens in the most decent conditions can be created and guaranteed. And that’s part of our great tragedy, because we as a society have put it off again and again.

Researcher at PUED-UNAM