The many levels of Mexico's violence
Many factors contribute to Mexico's ongoing violent drug war. While stopping the flow of drugs and weapons is of critical importance, many internal realities play a significant role in the Calderón government's inability to quell the violence by merely deploying additional troops and police officers to the high-conflict areas. Recent articles on Mexico indicate that corruption, rule of law, poverty and a lack of trust in the police have combined to create an environment in Mexico where it is faster to take justice into one's own hands, more profitable to be involved in the illicit economy, and exceedingly difficult to reform the broken municipal and local police forces. Corrupt police force The Los Angeles Times published an article on the difficulty Mexico faces to "reverse a legacy of police corruption that has tainted whole departments, shattered people's faith in law enforcement and compromised one of society's most basic institutions." Despite the government's attempts to reform the corrupt police force into a new model stressing "technical sophistication and trustworthiness," the country has a tendency to trade in "one corrupt police agency for another." The article argues that this habit must be overcome if real change is to emerge with the new police model. Vigilante groups Vigilante groups are becoming more prominent in the violence-ridden areas of Mexico due to the lack of trust in the police force, as reported by both the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. Just last Wednesday, police had to rescue four suspected kidnappers from a mob of angry residents who wanted to punish them themselves. And two weeks ago, the mayor of one northern Mexico city, San Pedro Garza Garcia, announced that he had created a special group, which might act outside of the law in some ways, in order to clean up criminal elements in his city. This group was made public after the new mayor announced that a group of kidnappers who had terrorized his city were dead four hours before the police had found the bodies. When questioned about how he knew before the police, the mayor admitted it was thanks to the new special group.
We're tired of sitting around on our hands and waiting for daddy or mommy Calderón to come to fix our fights. We in San Pedro took the decision to grab the bull by the horns.... Even acting outside the limits of my role as mayor, I will end the kidnappings, extortions and drug trafficking. We are going to do this by whatever means, fair or foul.
Poverty and politics The BBC also published an article yesterday on the difficulties the Mexican government is facing in defeating the drug cartels that have such a firm grasp on some cities. In addition to corruption and a lack of trust in the police, the article cites poverty and the current elitist political model as important underlying factors. According to the article, an "unsustainable economy" in cities such as Ciudad Juárez has driven "many into the arms of drug cartels," with the drug trade offering 30 times more money than one could earn as a teacher. In their own way, each of these articles points to a similar conclusion - the Mexican government's current strategy of sending in more troops and firing local police is not sufficient. More attention is needed on tackling corruption, improving the rule of law, and strengthening the judiciary. While most importantly, reliable security and alternative economic opportunities for the local population are necessary to deter even more citizens from entering the illicit and dangerous economy of drugs and murder.