The people of Monterrey, Mexico's modern city in northern part heard the gunshots in the month of November this year and as a result, a twenty one years old innocent student was killed when an assailant opened fire in an overcrowded place. After the incident, the government has decided to deploy more police force along with the army in the city but people are in a state of shock due to the open bloodshed in their neighborhood. The Monterrey is Mexico’s third wealthiest and largest city, known for some very good educational institutions but in the recent years, the Mexican drug lords have made the place known for the identical reasons as abovementioned. "To a certain extent, we saw ourselves as a privileged city and very isolated from Mexico's problems," Blanca Trevino said, who is a big businessman, president and CEO of Monterrey based Softtek, the largest information technology consulting firm in Latin America. He added further "The violence hit us because we were not accustomed to having it and therefore to handling it. Now we live in a sort of psychosis." The history of drug related violence is not new in the Mexico and has been persisting since a long time but in the recent years, a sharp rise in the violent incidents have been reported. Thousands of people are dying every year in the violent killings and in the game of supremacy among several gangs.1
These drug trafficking organization are responsible for the thousands of Mexican lives every year and according to a government report, they killed almost 36 thousand people in the period of year 2007 to the year of 2010. The death toll has crossed the figure of 2000 in the first eight months of the year 2011. In these perilous incidents several politician, journalists, policemen, businessmen, young students, have lost their lives. A number of foreigners also have been killed by the local gangs. These gangs are well organized and equipped with deadly weapons and they do not hesitate in committing any crime which benefits them and suits their profession.2
These drug trafficking organizations are not only a serious problem for the society of the Mexico and the democratic setup of the country but also create severe threats to the society of neighboring United States of America. Mexico is the biggest illegal drug supplier to the US and causing problems to not only the youngsters but also to the socio economical structure of the society. The matter has been discussed by the US congress and among the US authorities several times and a number of efforts have been done in this regard which has affected the whole episode and reduced the supply of illegal drugs but the problem has not been solved and still persists.
Several sociologists and crime experts who watch the problem closely say that the violence is an integral part of drug dealings or any crime of this kind. There are several reasons of violence in such crimes, some times the violence is committed for the supremacy over a certain area, some times it is committed to kill the members of opponent groups, sometimes during the monetary or business transactions and sometimes to make control over the whole business. In a number of instances, these gangs have killed the people who tried to come in their ways. They have killed a number of government officials, journalists and other whistleblowers from the society.
The drug war, the increasing power, control and interference of the drug trafficking organizations in the society is leading towards a dangerous scenario which is ultimately going to affect the democratic setup of the Mexico. President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon expressed his concerns over the issue and the ongoing violent trend in the country. He called these drug trafficking organizations as a serious threat to the democracy of the country and said "The glaring interference of criminals in the electoral process is a new and worrying development. No political party should remain silent about it.” Further he added "It's a threat that affects everyone and we must all, without hesitation, move to stop it." President Calderon who is serving his last year as president of the Mexico and preparing to contest next elections, is in favor to control these gangs because he considers these gangs as a “challenge to the state and their activities as an attempt to replace the state.”
Several scholars, sociologists and intellectuals of the society also believe that these drug trafficking organizations run a parallel government in the country as they have very good connections in the government. They are successfully operating because of their nexus with the politicians and the officials of the country. The criminals influence the government machinery by alluring these people with a good sum of money and also do not hesitate to kill them when they oppose instead of cooperating. The dangerous track record of these drug trafficking organizations compels the officials and other people to let them operate their ways.3
The current president has run an expedition against the drug lords and also United States is co-operating the Mexican authorities in this mission. This expedition has been resulted in the killings of more than forty drug leaders and mafias in the Mexico in the last two years. The president has assured Mexicans that once he returns to the power, he will eliminate the drug trafficking organizations from the Mexican soil.
Drug trafficking and its History in the Mexican society
The history of drug trafficking in the Mexico is very old and to understand the issue of drug war and its effect on the society of the Mexico, one has to go to the beginning of the twentieth century. This was the time when the Mexican revolution took place and at the same time United States passed the regulation that was meant to control the use and import of the drugs. The leaders of the contemporary Mexico were not interested in the controlling the drugs or about the misusing the drugs but they were only interested in the political stability and political benefits which was expected to come after the Mexican revolution. This was the ideal time for the birth of this drug business and the nexus between the United States and the Mexican drug trafficking organizations was built up during this phase only. The whole affair was highly lucrative and involved a large amount of money thus took very little time to flourish. Initially the drug trafficking got good support from the Mexican politicians because they also required the money and since the use of drugs was outlawed in the United States, they rushed to utilize this opportunity to make some quick and big money.4
In the beginning of the drug trafficking affair, it was confined to the region of Baja California where Colonel Esteban Cantu was the governor during the period of 1916 to 1920. He encouraged the production of opium and used its income for the expenses of the state and maintenance of the armed men. This set an example for the other political leaders and they also started participating in the drug production and the trade. Very soon this trend turned into a nexus between the drug producers and drug trafficking organizations. The whole affair was supported by the state and this was the beginning of the organized drug trafficking.
In Later years, the drug trafficking became more organized after the establishment of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). This party ruled the Mexico for almost seventy one years and this was the period when the drug trafficking touched the new heights in Mexico. The state encouraged and facilitated the drug traffickers in the all possible ways because it was one of the main sources of the revenue for the politicians. The development in the drug trafficking was seen in the coming years and in various phases. In the decade of 1990 when Colombian drug trafficking organizations were eliminated by the government, another chapter begun in the Mexican drug trafficking. Today the drug traffickers of Mexico are involved in trafficking of several drugs including heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana. Their major share goes to the US irrespective of several efforts by the united states authorities the drug trafficking by the DTO’s is continued.5
Effects of drug trafficking organizations on the various components of the society
There are hundreds of drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. Tijuana/AFO, Sinaloa, Juarez/CFO, Beltrán Leyva organization, Los Zetas, Gulf, and La Familia Michoacana are some major names of the DTO’s. These DTO’s usually operate in different territories and when on try to interfere in the territory of another, the incidents of bloodshed take place.
These organizations are so audacious that they do not hesitate in entering into the combat with the government and fights are very common between these DTO’s and the armed forces. The high rate of violence is the demand of this profession and it has affected the society at large scale since its beginning. The violent incidents use to occur whenever and wherever these traffickers intend them to take place and also the incidents are spreading according to the requirements of the DTO’s. According to a government report, about 60% of the total violent killings took place in the cities of Tijuana, Culiacán, and Ciudad Juárez. The violent incidents take place all over the Mexico because the drug traffickers are present in every part of the country but in the recent years, the northern part of the country has been reported with large number of the incidents.
The increasing number of the drug trafficking organizations has affected the business at a large scale. Since the money is in the center and plays the most important role, it is not possible that the business sector could be untouched from these criminals. The sector which is one of the most affected businesses is the tourism and even after having some unique and beautiful places fail to attract the large number of the tourists and numbers have been reported decreasing by the authorities due to the rampant situation of the crime. Mexico has the capacity to be a big tourist hub and it attracts a large number of tourists but the tourist spots of the country deserve more and they can earn more revenues once the situation of the crime is improved.
The current situation of the Mexico leads the country towards a blurred state of affairs. The drug trafficking organizations and related people are very powerful and they have the capacity to manipulate the things in their interests. The current president has tried very seriously to break these DTO’s and his efforts are visible as dozens of drug lords have been convicted, several are dead but the problem is not that simple and it requires a lot of attention from the government authorities. These organizations have hampered the faith of Mexicans in their state and armed forces which is itself a very negative symptom for the future of the democratic setup of the country. People are losing the hope after every violent incident and if the situation is not improved very soon, the life of common people would become very miserable in the Mexico.
The people who observe the problem critically suggest that the current trend is very negatively affecting the psyche of the people. There are instances where people did not speak up against the criminals even after seeing them in involving in a crime because they were afraid of their life. The courts are compelled to let the criminals go without punishments because no one is ready to say a single word against the dangerous people. For these DTO’s fighting with the armed forces is a very regular thing and there are cases when these criminals killed the armed forces and compelled them to leave and run for their life. These drug traffickers have established a system that allows them in operating according to their own set way.
Several efforts have been done in order to get rid of the problem but the existence of the issue suggest that there is some problem with the efforts or some more efforts are required to solve the issue. The detailed analysis shows that the trend was encouraged by the political support which made it so powerful that today the drug traffickers are running a parallel system in the Mexico. Now the solution lies in the political will and the current Mexican president has indicated that he has decided to solve the issue. In this mission the US is providing him the full support because the problem is affecting the American society also in a remarkable way. Mexican drug lords have filled the US with the banned drugs and drugs are easily available to the youngsters of the America.
After having observed the detailed analysis of the ongoing drug war in the Mexico and analyzing the several aspects, it is clear that the problem is a huge one and if not solved very soon, it has the capacity to create the serious threats to the democratic setup of the country and the Mexican society. The effects of these Drug trafficking organizations are visible on the every component of the society and they have access to everywhere in the Mexican ruling system. They have their people in politics, administration and the judiciary. They are equipped with deadly weapons, they are well organized and have enormous amount of money. Considering the bad effects of these organizations, it is imperative to rein them immediately to prevent the further damages to the society, other sectors and the most important the democratic setup of the Mexico.
Works Cited
Beith, Malcolm. The Last Narco: Inside the Hunt for El Chapo Guzm'n, the World"s Most Wanted Drug Lord. London: Penguin, 2010.
Bethell, Leslie. Mexico since Independence. New Jersey: CUP, 1991.
Campbell, Howard. Drug War Zone: Frontline Dispatches from the Streets of El Paso and Juarez. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009.
Edberg, Mark Cameron. El Narcotraficante: Narcocorridos and the Construction of a Cultural. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004.
Haber, Stephen. Mexico Since 1980. New Jersey: CUP, 2008.
