What the fuck is wrong with Mexico?

Great Debates
1

Perhaps it’s just because of my proximity to Mexico, but I read a lot in the papers about things that happen there, and after the latest news, I gotta ask: what the fuck is wrong with Mexico?

For those who haven’t seen this latest, the mother of a girl who was found dead, and who had been a tireless crusader for justice since, was shot in the head, possibly by the man suspected in her daughter’s murder. And yeah, the daughter was murdered. Her dismembered, charred body was found in a trash bin in 2009. But the suspect was ordered released by 3 judges who were later suspended for their actions in that case.

And you won’t believe this part: the mother’s shooting took place in front of the Governor’s office in Chihuahua, where she was holding a vigil.

Why can’t the Mexican authorities get a handle on all the violence? Are they (as a group) that corrupt that they can’t (or won’t) do anything to stop the bloodshed? Or is it simple incompetence? I have a hard time believing that to be the case, but if someone can show it, I’ll take a look.

But, IIRC, when we had prohibition and all, it was like a literal war, with both sides shooting up the place. The only news I ever hear out of Mexico is about the bad guys killing (usually innocent, uninvolved) people. I never see news about how the Mexican police, federales, etc. raided a place and killed 40 guys and arrested 50 more. Instead I see news like

[

](http://articles.cnn.com/2010-10-12/justice/texas.falcon.lake.head_1_tamaulipas-state-mexican-investigator-search?_s=PM:CRIME)

You bet your ass that if that happened in America, a cop’s head delivered to the authorites, heaven & earth would be moved to find the people responsible. But what happens in Mexico? Not much, AFAICT. Heck, I can’t even find any reports that the Mexican authorities are still investigating the death of David Hartley, let alone the investigator’s death. The shootings at parties in July (17 dead) and October (14 dead) don’t seem to have resulted in any arrests, either.

What gives? Is the country really that lawless, that corrupt, that venal?

2

I live in LA and lately this has completely baffled me reading the news with new massacre stories almost each day.

I can only think that drugs and money lead to corruption. And now even kids are finding this lifestyle an attractive one.

I’ve read where towns, small ones, that have cartels basically run the small town and police are rarely seen, yet the execution of Ortiz in front of a government building is not exactly in a small town. I found that story just as preposterous as you did.

3

Here’s another story about the execution of small town mayors by cartels from September:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100924/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico

So, you shoot government officials, take over the town, get the money, control the routes to the US. As far as where the retaliation is, you got me.

And no one I know is planning a weekend over the border any time soon.

4

Corruption has been a part of Mexico political culture ever since it’s inception, it’s gonna take alot more than a few arrests to basically cut out the entrenched system of corruption within the society, and usually when that happens, there’s a major upheaval in the society.

5

I’m surprised Hollywood doesnt pump out more movies, or series,about what is happening there. Mexico trumps anything featured in “The Shield” or any other supposedly extreme shows. I can only think of “Man on fire”, and that was years ago.

6

Why do Americans always seem to think everything has a simple solution? After all, a great deal of the blame for what is happening right now in our country is a direct result of your ridiculous prohibition. As another poster pointed out, during the alcohol prohibition, violence was widespread in your country.

Your stupid “drug war” has been going on for decades and will continue forever unless prohibition is lifted. The huge sums of money earned from illegal drug sales is the root of the problem. It is nearly impossible for the government here to stop the corruption when the “bad guys” have more power than the justice system. If given the decision to either take a bribe to look the other way or be killed and possibly your family also, what would you do?

As it stands now, we are the ones paying the heavy price for the illegal drug consumption in your country. If American heads started to roll within your country, I would think the problem might be looked at differently. But while the carnage is happeniong outside your own country and to a country many Americans consider morally inferior and and its people heathens, there is little interest an intelligent approach to the problem.

7

And CB wins the thread.

The issue isn’t Mexico at its root…it’s American demand for illegal drugs. Without that and the money it brings drug cartels would be out of business almost immediately. But the demand is there and it’s not allowed to be served through legal channels. When that happens SOMEONE is going to try to supply it and those are already going to be people with only a passing recognition of societal norms (like not breaking laws and killing people).

8

Just because you don’t get news about certain things means that nothing happened? Very faulty logic. Maybe your sources either don’t know about something or simply decide not to publish follow ups. Says more about your media, IMO.

9

I hear that regularily but I always wonder about those one-solution-will-cure-all things. Is it something talked about in Mexico? That the US really need to find some way of making drugs legal, so as to cut the revenues to the drug cartels, and thus end them?

10

At least 141 inmates escape from Mexican prison

11

Maybe Mexico needs gun control laws.

12

The irony.

13

:smack:

14

First, I was the “other poster” who mentioned alcohol prohibition, in the OP. Second, where do you get the impression that I (or anyone else who has posted in this thread) think there’s a “simple solution” for correcting the lawlessness and violence in Mexico?

I can’t argue at all with your last 2 paragraphs. I completely agree that the “war on drugs” is a ridiculous social engineering project doomed to failure on many fronts and for many reasons, chief among them this truth: people like to get high.

And I agree that many, possibly most, Americans do regard Mexico (and Mexicans) as primitive heathens (despite it being one of the most solidly Christian countries on the planet).

Still, the Mexico GDP this year is listed as US$874.81B, compared to the US GDP of US$1.41T. Considering that the Mexican populations is listed as just under 108,000,000 compared the US population of 307,000,000 it seems like there should be plenty of money to go around in Mexico through legal channels such that the authorities could, if they had the resolve, find enough people that wouldn’t be corrupted to change things. So I’m trying to figure out why the haven’t yet.

Surely the regular commission of murders and atrocities must be provoking more of an outcry than a 1 woman vigil?

15

Mexico needs a firm, ruthless, decisive leader to get the lid on the national crisis-someone like Lincoln by sweeping out corruption and instituting all measures necessary against the thugs including some that might be accused by certain people of “violating human rights”. And we need to do our part too. Drug use in the US has thankfully been declining since the late 80s-proof contrary to the detractors the Drug Wars have been working-and we need to step up the fight against drugs by conducting mass arrests and giving all the help Mexico wants or needs. Indeed I agree with the idea that demand for illegal drugs in America is the main cause but that doesn’t mean we should legalize all the hard drugs (I support marijuana legalization though). Perhaps CIA targeted assassinations of drug lords, spraying Agent Orange on drug fields, and so on might be a good idea but Mexico probably won’t allow it.

16

That could be, which is why I started this thread: to gather more information about this subject.

Do you have anything to contribute other than sniping at America and Americans? I get the impression that you are Mexican and live in Mexico, so if you have news sources with more stories about the Falcon Lake murders or the party massacres or anything else relevant, please help me (and anyone else reading) fight our ignorance with some links or cites or something.

17

I disagree with almost everything you wrote in this post. I do agree with the first 15 words, tho.

18

In Colombia and later on in Iraq special squads were established to root out criminals such as the AUC. That would be a wonderful thing to do.

19

So you don’t support marijuana legalization?

20

The silence, and the complacency, of the Mexican citizenry is deafening.

.