Mexico Election Signals New Tack in the Drug War

[Eugene]

Source: New York Times

Mexico Election Signals New Tack in the Drug War

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD and DAMIEN CAVE
Published: June 10, 2012

MEXICO CITY — The top three contenders for Mexico’s presidency have all promised a major shift in the country’s drug war strategy, placing a higher priority on reducing the violence in Mexico than on using arrests and seizures to block the flow of drugs to the United States.

The candidates, while vowing to continue to fight drug trafficking, say they intend to eventually withdraw the Mexican Army from the drug fight. They are concerned that it has proved unfit for police work and has contributed to the high death toll, which has exceeded 50,000 since the departing president, Felipe Calderón, made the military a cornerstone of his battle against drug traffickers more than five years ago.

The front-runner, Enrique Peña Nieto, does not emphasize stopping drug shipments or capturing drug kingpins as he enters the final weeks of campaigning for the July 1 election. Lately he has suggested that while Mexico should continue to work with the United States government against organized crime, it should not “subordinate to the strategies of other countries.”

“The task of the state, what should be its priority from my point of view, and what I have called for in this campaign, is to reduce the levels of violence,” he said in an interview.

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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/11/world/americas/us-braces-for-mexican-shift-in-drug-war-focus.html

[malcolmkyle]

1. Prohibition always makes matters far worse!

Mexico's gruesome civil war is clearly a product of the failed policy of Prohibition.

Alcohol prohibition was a tremendous failure due to the incredible amount of crime and disorder it created. Human nature hasn't changed since the 1920s and early 30s. Then, the distribution of liquor was turned over to a whole new group of criminal entrepreneurs. Now, due to the drug war, dangerous mind altering substances are again being manufactured, smuggled and sold by criminals. Prohibition has turned Mexico into a civil war zone. Our intentions in prohibiting these substances may well be good, but the result of our inability to recognize the futility of such an action will both deepen and prolong the agony caused by this useless and dangerous policy.

The future depends on whether or not enough of us are willing to take a long look at the tragic results of prohibition. If we continue to skirt the primary issue while refusing to address the root problem then we can expect no other result than a worsening of the current dire situation. - Good intentions, wishful thinking and pseudoscience are no match for the immutable realities of human nature.

[Uncle Joe]

2. The word "worse" is subjective if you're part of the for profit prison industry, organized crime,

a shakedown reliant police force, drug pushing big pharma or a worshiper of authoritarianistic, Big Brother, Bill of Right raping government then "worse" is great, let the good times roll.

P.S. Welcome to D.U. malcolmkyle.