"How Mexico became a failed state" Topic

"Mexico's president has permitted the violence that has raged for years in many parts of the country, including areas adjacent or close to its border with the United States, to become far worse.

The current administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared from its inception that it had suspended hostilities against transnational criminal organizations, switching to "embraces and not bullets" (abrazos y no balazos).

AMLO, as the president is known, based that decision on the notion that it was best to attack the root causes of narco-violence – which he attributes to poverty and, specifically, to lack of opportunity for millions of uneducated youths in the legal labor market…"
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Amicalement
Armand

In my opinion; A failed narco boss arrest is not simonimous in any way with a "failled state". The author of this articles is a known right wing anti AMLO ecomomist, so his views are very biased.

Years?

Try decades.

Seems like a pretty accurate report to me, from what I've read and heard in the news. Basically, the guy in charge now is giving the Narco-Terrorists a free hand in their operations (one wonders what % cut he's getting from them), and has essentially given up on fighting them.

The release of El Chapo's son seems to bear that out, and it is a major stain on Mexico's legal system, and fight against the Narcos.

Clearly, the criminals are running the country, and those permitted to remain in power are just well paid figureheads for them.

Was it ever anything else?

How do you fix it?? Insanity!

Populism… the new hard cancer….

Amicalement
Armand

On the plus side, Mexico does present plenty of skirmish gaming scenarios.

Correct, Oberlindes, if you can avoid the really, really, dark reality and tactics used by some of the gangs. They're as bad, if not worse than ISIS/DAESH.

The corrupt politicians, judges, police, military, etc., etc., could be an interesting game all in itself, not to mention the gang rivalries and wars that break out between them, making the Wars of the Roses/Renaissance Italian Wars, and the double-crossing there look amateurish by comparison.

My guess is you never really can trust anyone, at any time in Mexico, even within families, since there is just too much money and power up for grabs, and these guys have BILLIONS of dollars to throw around to buy people with. Those they can't buy, they kill or torture, along with their families and friends.

Can't say how to fix it. If I knew the answer to that, I'd be a very rich and powerful person.

I know how to fix it, but I'd be called a savage as we live in some very politically correct times. Jus' sayin'…

I would define when the government is not the power in charge as a failed if not failing state

Well yea, I thought of that too, but suspect the media would not stand for the measures needed to put a stop to the drug cartels and their enablers.

You need a full on war to do that at this point, especially in Mexico, and the cartels tendrils are so deep, everywhere, that half the population would probably end up being casualties.

Might be able to do some interesting things with legalization of drugs in the US, that seemed to work pretty well in the Netherlands. Yeah, there was a temporary increase in drug-related crime, but 10 years after legalization drug-related crimes were 1/10 of what they were before legalization.