Experts and analysts are still trying to explain the obvious but paradoxical correlation between a strategy ostensibly aimed at cracking down on the cartels and the chaos that has resulted.
The DRUG WAR strategy serves interests of social control.
(GUERRA CONTRA EL NARCO: El propósito es crear la incertidumbre frente al cambio, lo desconocido, el activismo social.)
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The starting bell rang for the Mexican presidential campaigns on March 30, and the candidates are out of the gates. As the nation faces an unprecedented crisis in levels of violence and lawlessness, one of the big issues is who will have to take the blame for the disastrous war on drugs.
More than 50,000 men, women and children have been killed in violence related to the drug war since December of 2006. That was when President Felipe Calderón made the now deeply regrettable decision to launch thousands of army troops into the streets to confront drug cartels.
Experts and analysts are still trying to explain the obvious but paradoxical correlation between a strategy ostensibly aimed at cracking down on the cartels and the chaos that has resulted.
Besides the booming economy of war, the drug war strategy serves interests of social control. When the nation is militarized in the name of the drug war, the government can and does intimidate and often do worse to dissidents. Human rights defenders, indigenous people seeking to protect their land and natural resources from incursions of companies, and youth in general are particular targets of military occupation, killings and repression (1).
DRUG WAR: DOES it or does it NOT IMPACT TOURISM?
Gerardo Llanes, executive director for marketing at the Mexico Tourism Board: “Mexico's problems are tied up with the international demand for drugs and a need for social reform at home. PR is fine for promoting tourism, but it won't change a country's image. If you are talking about the overall reputation of the country, that's not subject to marketing because it is not a product for sale. There is no point in standing around moaning about Mexico's image when hundreds, thousands of people are being killed each year. It is not Mexico's fault, if it is anybody's fault it is America's (EUA´s) fault, but they have still got to fix it”.
SECTUR, the Secretary of Tourism in México, maintains that the drug war does not impact the number of tourists that visit the country, nor does it influence private investment in the sector (2).
El rector de la UNAM, José Narro, demandó un cambio total a la política actual del combate a las drogas; no se trata de dar un sí o no a la legalización (3).
Miedo, odio y amor electoral en México. Una Doctrina mexicana del Shock. Golpeada por la violencia, el escándalo y el desastre económico, una importante proporción del electorado mexicano –quizás la gran mayoría – está aturdida, confundida y agotada. El veterano analista político Enrique Semo escribió recientemente que una ciudadanía aturdida está paralizada psicológica e ideológicamente desarmada por años de imaginería mediática ofreciendo continuamente escenas de violencia extrema y una militarización estatal que supuestamente iba a combatir el mal.
El propósito es crear la incertidumbre frente al cambio. “Su propósito es crear la incertidumbre frente al cambio, lo desconocido, el activismo social. Las protestas contra la vulneración de los derechos civiles son ignoradas,” sostuvo Semo. “Las quejas masivas de las ‘víctimas colaterales’ hechas públicas por el movimiento iniciado por Javier Sicilia son acalladas con promesas vagas…” (4) (5) (6).
NOTAS:
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* CIP Americas Program: With more than 30 years of experience in Latin American news and analysis, the Americas Program of the Center for International Policy is a leading source of information for activists, academics and citizens concerned about US foreign policy toward Latin America and movements for social justice within the hemisphere www.cipamericas.org
