Democratic Equilibrium by Fowler Michael W.;

Author:Fowler, Michael W.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lexington Books

The euphoria of Mexico’s climb to the pinnacle of democracy was short-lived. Expectations of improved socioeconomic conditions and reduced corruption were not met. Despite Mexico’s democratization, violence appeared to be getting worse due to the prominence of organized crime. As organized crime become stronger, local democratic processes were threatened.

In the not so distant past, organized crime was a client of the PRI. During the chaotic years following the Mexican Revolution, drug smuggling into the United States became a flourishing business. Opium smuggling from Mexico into the United States became rampant in the 1920s after the United States banned the substance. By the time that Mexico made opium illegal in 1926, opium traffickers had already developed close relationships with state governors and military leaders.50 Drug smugglers incorporated themselves into the patron-client system at the local level. The relationship provided tax revenue and campaign contributions to the local government while providing government and military protection to the traffickers. This somewhat symbiotic relationship broke down in 1977 as the Mexican government attempted to crack down on organized crime and corruption.51 As part of its anti-drug and anticorruption stance, the government began to prosecute government employees involved in trafficking, gradually pushing control of trafficking activities to those outside of the government’s influence into the domains of organized crime.

The privatization of the Mexican organized criminal groups occurred while the U.S. drug war was picking up steam under Ronald Reagan. As cocaine became popular in the United States, Mexico became the major transportation route for cocaine as the U.S. counterdrug operations increased the risk of Caribbean routes into Florida. As the transportation route was shifting, the United States put pressure on the Colombian cartels. The Medellin Cartel was largely destroyed by the death of its leader, Pablo Escobar, in 1993. Police and military operations dismantled the Cali Cartel leadership in 1995. The demise of the Colombian cartels raised the rewards considerably for the risks of trafficking. The existing Mexican organized criminal groups grew to fill the vacuum, partly assisted by the efforts of Raul Salinas, brother of the President. Organized crime became dominant on the west and east coast (Sinaloa and Quintana Roo act as transshipment points) and along the U.S.-Mexico border (especially Tijuana and Juarez). Over time, the organizations extended their power through almost every state in Mexico corrupting many local police, judges, and elected officials. While corruption may have fueled an increased demand for democracy, increased democracy had a limited effect on decreasing corruption.

Unfortunately for Mexico, the crackdown on corruption had not resulted in a strengthening of the rule of law in Mexico. In fact, it is difficult to tell if serious progress had been made as many “Mexicans will tell you they fear the police more than the criminals.”52 To make the security situation worse, after mass firings of corrupt police in the 1990s, many unemployed police went to work for organized crime and their enforcer gangs such as the Zetas.

The study of intrastate violence in Mexico is a complex topic. Organized crime is not a traditional insurgency.

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