By Colin Shew and Geoffrey Nelson
Although Mexican drug cartels have been prevalent for decades, they have gained a new level of importance due to consistent media coverage in recent years. Some of the most notorious drug cartels include Los Zetas, the Juárez cartel, the Gulf cartel, and, most active today, the Sinaloa cartel. This slides presentation will give you some background on the history of these cartels. Tons of drugs pour across the Mexican border and into the United States every year, but how exactly do these drugs get there? Well, for the most part, it has to do with how the Mexican government is handling the situation.
The Mexican Judicial System is notorious for its corruption deeply connected to keeping drug cartels afloat. Police, judges, and high ranking government officials are constantly being paid off by cartels. In 2019, a statistic from the United States Office on Drugs showed that over 50% of judges were being bribed. When Andrés Manuel López Obrador became president in 2018, he had promised to cut down on homicide rates, rather than apprehend cartels. He claimed the government's war on drugs was over and would instead decriminalize illegal drugs and get better care for drug addicts. Despite other propositions to demilitarize the police, he established a new national guard to increase security. It was also at this time that the U.S. had pledged $4.8 billion to Mexico in order to strengthen Mexico’s economy, as well as provide more jobs so that people wouldn't need to emigrate.
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| Andrés Manuel López Obrador, current president of Mexico. |
This article from CNN helps to explain what exactly the Mexican government is trying to do to solve the drug cartel issue:
José Antonio Ortega, president of the Mexico City-based Citizens' Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice, recently [said that] the current state of security in Mexico means it's time for the president to overhaul his security strategy.
"President López Obrador's strategy is not working. That's why only a few days ago we asked him to change it. He has to act against the private militias at the service of the criminal groups, he has to enforce the law, he has to take action to put an end to the kind of impunity we're seeing right now," Ortega said on November 5.
For Ortega, equivocating on a strategy is proving to be just as dangerous as the tough enforcement policy used in the last two administrations. "The message we're sending to criminals is that here they can kill, kidnap, extort and the president is not going to go against them, but is going to call their mothers so that they get a scolding. That's what the 'hugs, not gunshots' policy is all about," Ortega said.
In addition, this NYT article explains some more faults in the Mexican government’s methods of handling the drug cartel situation and gives some possible solutions:
… the answer is not to give in to drug cartels, who can hold a major city and its residents under siege. The idea of drug policy reform, legalizing some drugs and providing better treatment for addicts, is to reduce the resources going to cartels and stop their rule of terror.
The problem in Mexico over the past decade is not only that the government has cracked down on traffickers by burning opium and marijuana fields. It is also that the cartels have used their billions to build paramilitary forces that lay waste to chunks of the country. It is not just a war on drugs but also a war financed by drugs. And that war does not stop even if the government is not attacking them.
President López Obrador needs to rally support from his forces and send out a clear message that criminal groups cannot ambush and murder them. He needs these forces to reduce the homicide rate and stop armed criminals from openly taking control of city centers. At the same time, his government could lead a more coherent plan for drug policy reform; there is already a smattering of bills in Mexico’s Congress on the issue. And the government can press on with worthy social programs to steer young people from crime.
Although we cannot foresee the cartels’ fates, it is certain that the illegal drug market isn't going anywhere soon. And with the demand for drugs, the cartels will continue to flourish if the Mexican government does not step up to the plate and address the border issues, and because of the corruption and weakness of the government. The subject of the cartels can be connected to the course theme of “show how fear can cause and prevent conflict.” Although letting the cartels function without too much military interference prevents a full-on war, avoiding the problem at hand will do more harm than good. The Mexican government’s fear and hesitation to confront the cartels have led to chaos. Every time the government succumbs to cartels, their weakness is emphasized, and hope for a better future is diminished.
Discussion Questions:
What causes fear in government? Explain.
What makes a government “weak” or “strong”? What can be done to prevent having a “weak” government?
How much of a threat do you think that the cartels pose? What would you do to address the issue?
Other Sources:
Gettyimages-988862740.jpg (president photo)
Fear in government can be caused by an array of things. For example, if an opposition group starts to expand and rally against the government, it can cause the government officials to act in harsh ways. They have the ability to assign military to certain rallies or protests and completely shutting them down, destroying a sense of nationalism for a large group of people and making the government seem abusive. Fear in government can also be caused by the discovery of corruption. If one government official is found to be corrupt, other leaders will also be under suspicion, creating a sense of fear in the government.
ReplyDeleteJosh Koe
I agree that fear is a leading cause for action in the government. Furthermore, I think that fear can be caused by the unknown, as people fear things or situations that make them feel unsafe or unsure. When governments are faced with a situation where they do not know a definite outcome will occur, they may make rash and inconsiderate decisions. This fear of fear can cause many issues and harm many lives. However, fear is constant in the populous and if that is gone, it causes the government to be afraid of their loss of power.
DeleteFear in government is mainly caused by one thing: The idea of losing their power. Governments and people in those governments will do anything to make sure that they can stay in power as long as they want. Weak governments occur when they don't have the support of the people, when whole cities and regions are controlled not by the government but by a cartel trust in the government begins to decline and in turn they become a weak government. Cartels are too powerful so there isn't a quick solution. Some cartels were even funded directly by the US government and have control of way to much land because of it. However if cartels drop instantly it will create a large power vacuum and power struggle. Cartels sometimes have full support of the town and area they control with cartels funding large amounts of jobs and resources for the residences. As it is right now Cartels are the government and a fix isn't going to be easy.
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