It is known that criminal gangs carry out a form of extortion by way of " floor fee" to different businesses, the National Alliance of Small Merchants (ANPEC) reported that this practice has increased considerably. Before the pandemic began, the "normal" fee was $20 pesos; this has risen and now a minimum of $500 pesos is required in Mexico.

It is worth noting that these gangs act with total impunity and that this is experienced practically all over the country, from Tijuana, Rosarito, San Luis Río Colorado, Culiacán, Los Mochis, Michoacán, Guerrero, towns in Zacatecas, Potosí, Monterrey and even Mexico City.

"The insecurity suffered by the small commerce goes from ant robbery, assault with violence, with a knife and even with firearms. There has been an increase of 32% in the number of reports of these incidents; however, there is still a culture of "No Reporting" due to distrust and fear of being pointed out by the police. There is a well-founded suspicion that they are often in collusion with criminals, which is why thousands of small businesses have opted to close their doors, since nobody likes working for others who only extend their hand to take the money they work so hard to earn and which they obtain by threatening the integrity of the merchants' families", commented the president of ANPEC, Cuauhtémoc Rivera.

There are other types of extortions that Mexican citizens face, according to ANPEC, such as the taxation to which various merchants are subjected to is the "bribe" designated to the authorities, which with that they take care of the proper functioning of the market and another is the payment of Value Added Tax (VAT) the Special Tax on Production and Service (EIPS), both are paid by the fact of earning money and consuming alcohol, cigarettes, beer, soft drinks, candy or any product in high demand.

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