Introduction
Over the past decade, most people have lost their lives due to drug-related violence in Mexico. The infamous Drug War in Mexico is a problem that emanated from the country’s long history of drug use. The drug trafficking activities in the country can be linked to the tolerance of production of drugs such as heroin, cocaine, poppy and marijuana by the authorities. The Mexican states of Chiapas, Sinaloa, Guerrero and Veracruz are known for drug plantations. The prominence of the trade in these regions can be attributed to the corruption of the authorities through bribery and sometimes threats.
Theoretical Social Perspectives
Functional Perspective
The functionalist perspective can be understood by the coordination of attacks by the drug cartels. The emergence of powerful cartels has posed a serious challenge for the Mexican authorities to curb the drug trafficking menace. Most reports by the media indicate that 2006 was the year that marked the commencement of the Drug War in Mexico (Grillo, 2012). However, the genesis of the drug-related violence can be traced back to 2003 at the time when the Gulf Cartel controlled the city of Nuevo Laredo. This is the year when the first major open gun-battle took place between the authorities and alleged drug traffickers. Later on, it was said that the perpetrators of the shoot-out were Los Zetas, Los Negros and Gulf Cartel members. The mastermind behind these attacks was identified by the authorities as El Chapo.
Interactionist Perspective
The interactionist perspective argues that the society as a whole has a better understanding of day-to-day social interactions. By instilling fear among the people, the drugs leaders have been very successful in sustain the illegal business. The drug cartels threaten the authorities by murdering public officers that they consider as threats to their dealings. The cartels control some states in the country where they intimidate citizens and the authority.
Conflict Perspective
The conflict view is best explained under the administration of Felipe Calderon from 2006. He adopted a confrontational approach that directly targeted the drug leaders. Calderon organized a major crackdown aimed at destroying the outlawed activities of drug trafficking organizations with the support of the United States government. This approach seemed to further increase the violence exposed to the public. As the authorities targeted the leaders of the drug cartel, they retaliated by killing innocent civilians. Consequently, Enrique Nieto was elected new president in December 2012. He transformed Mexico’s overall policy on drug war to mitigate the escalating violence vented out against innocent citizens by the drug barons.
Feminist Perspective
Closely related to the conflict perspective is the feminist view, which states that society views some social groups as inferior or unequal. Women and children are regularly abducted, recruited then trained for militia combat. They are also being used as methods of drug transportation, human trafficking and other related activities. This has caused a lot of fear and controversy at the macro level because the issues of The Mexican Drug Cartels are spilling over into the United States and endangering some of their minority groups as well.
Conclusion and Recommendation
In summary, the drug trafficking problem is an issue that greatly affects the society. At the center of the conflict between the drug cartels and the authorities are innocent citizens who are caught up in the cross fire. The authorities should adopt strategies of combating the social vice without exposing the population to so much violence.
Works Cited
Grillo, Ioan. El Narco: The Bloody Rise of Mexican Drug Cartels. London: Bloomsbury, 2012. Print.
