Recent events indicate the slow disintegration of communities in Mexico. In addition to the daily killings, which average over 32 a day for 2010 (8 per day in Ciudad Juárez alone) there is now the 11 assassinations of mayors in 2010, in both rich municipalities and poor alike. This is in conjunction to the increasing acts of vigilantism that is sweeping throughout the country because of the lack of confidence in the state in its ability to provide security to its citizens.
The killings have been ever-increasing as acknowledged by Alejandro Poiré, the Technical Secretary for the National Security Council of Mexico, who stated that for the months of June, July and August the average was 49 killings per day (over 1000 per month), BUT, he then added, the good news is that since September 24 the rate has now stabilized at 36 killings per day (he made the announcement on September 30)...indications of a government struggling for any kind of "good" news that it can get. The pace of killings has now become routine, so much so, that one of the national newspapers of Mexico, El Universal, has diminished its daily, thorough, reporting of each incident and daily count of executions to once or maybe twice a week, with only the scantiest of details.
The Federal government has repeatedly stated that the killings are narcos killing narcos and that 90% of the dead are criminals, a claim that is dubious at best since the investigative prowess of the police are nearly non-existent with a government estimate that only 1% of all crimes end with a conviction. Of course, this perception is starting to change somewhat now that the dead are beginning to include mayors of towns all over Mexico. Of the 11 mayors killed in 2010, 5 have been assassinated in the last 6 weeks: Gustavo Sanchez, mayor of Tancitaro, Michoácan; Prisciliano Rodriguez, mayor of Doctor Gonzalez, Nuevo León; Edelmiro Cavazos, mayor of Santiago, Nuevo León: Marco Antonio Garcia, mayor of Hidalgo, Tamaulipas; Alexander Lopez-Garcia, mayor of El Naranjo, San Luis Potosi. And, there have been reports of hundreds of other mayors receiving threats and/or who have had attempts made upon their lives.
Lastly, there is the vigilantism. Since 2008, the number of incidents of mobs of citizens taking justice into their own hands has nearly doubled every year with two in 2008 (April 10, 2008 and June 24, 2008), four in 2009 (November 9, 2009, December 9, 2009, December 10, 2009 and December 20, 2009) and seven to date for 2010 (January 6, 2010, February 18, 2010, May 17, 2010, August 6, 2010, August 8, 2010, August 13, 2010, September 21, 2010).
The news is that none of this is news or seems to raise any real concerns, either nationally or internationally. The rhetoric is muted, staid and unchanging, “stick to the plan and everything will work out” (clearly none of the leaders are aware of Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity).
The number of people killed in relation to the drug war here in Mexico for 2010 is now at 8213 and the total killed since Calderón launched his war in December 2006 is 29413.
For a map of the killings: click: Narco-killings
Follow on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/wmmckay
The killings have been ever-increasing as acknowledged by Alejandro Poiré, the Technical Secretary for the National Security Council of Mexico, who stated that for the months of June, July and August the average was 49 killings per day (over 1000 per month), BUT, he then added, the good news is that since September 24 the rate has now stabilized at 36 killings per day (he made the announcement on September 30)...indications of a government struggling for any kind of "good" news that it can get. The pace of killings has now become routine, so much so, that one of the national newspapers of Mexico, El Universal, has diminished its daily, thorough, reporting of each incident and daily count of executions to once or maybe twice a week, with only the scantiest of details.
The Federal government has repeatedly stated that the killings are narcos killing narcos and that 90% of the dead are criminals, a claim that is dubious at best since the investigative prowess of the police are nearly non-existent with a government estimate that only 1% of all crimes end with a conviction. Of course, this perception is starting to change somewhat now that the dead are beginning to include mayors of towns all over Mexico. Of the 11 mayors killed in 2010, 5 have been assassinated in the last 6 weeks: Gustavo Sanchez, mayor of Tancitaro, Michoácan; Prisciliano Rodriguez, mayor of Doctor Gonzalez, Nuevo León; Edelmiro Cavazos, mayor of Santiago, Nuevo León: Marco Antonio Garcia, mayor of Hidalgo, Tamaulipas; Alexander Lopez-Garcia, mayor of El Naranjo, San Luis Potosi. And, there have been reports of hundreds of other mayors receiving threats and/or who have had attempts made upon their lives.
Lastly, there is the vigilantism. Since 2008, the number of incidents of mobs of citizens taking justice into their own hands has nearly doubled every year with two in 2008 (April 10, 2008 and June 24, 2008), four in 2009 (November 9, 2009, December 9, 2009, December 10, 2009 and December 20, 2009) and seven to date for 2010 (January 6, 2010, February 18, 2010, May 17, 2010, August 6, 2010, August 8, 2010, August 13, 2010, September 21, 2010).
The news is that none of this is news or seems to raise any real concerns, either nationally or internationally. The rhetoric is muted, staid and unchanging, “stick to the plan and everything will work out” (clearly none of the leaders are aware of Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity).
The number of people killed in relation to the drug war here in Mexico for 2010 is now at 8213 and the total killed since Calderón launched his war in December 2006 is 29413.
For a map of the killings: click: Narco-killings
Follow on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/wmmckay
The Federal government has repeatedly stated that the killings are narcos killing narcos and that 90% the dead are criminals, a claim that is dubious at best since the investigative prowess of the police are nearly non-existent with a government estimate that only 1% all crimes end with a conviction. Of course, this perception is starting to change somewhat now that the dead are beginning to include mayors of towns all over Mexico.
ReplyDeleteHere is a POV documentary I just caught the end of this weekend. I must have missed this when it first ran, in July. So sad, and maddening! "Justice" in Mexico.
Presumed Guilty
http://www.pbs.org/pov/presumedguilty
Imagine being picked up off the street, told you have committed a murder you know nothing about and then finding yourself sentenced to 20 years in jail. In December 2005 this happened to Toño Zúñiga in Mexico City and, like thousands of other innocent people, he was wrongfully imprisoned.
I couldn't watch the whole thing, but it seems as though there was only one witness against him. Yet there were numerous street vendors who, on-camera, admitted he was sitting in his stall on the Sunday the murder was committed.
I'm not sure what to say, but my impression is some people are just so mad, so angry, they don't care who is punished.
It's also occurred to me, given what I've learned about Mexico's fairly harsh stance on immigrants, that perhaps this Drug War is just an excuse to engage in some ethnic cleansing.
And in related news… a new POV documentary tomorrow night. About the guy who broke tons of laws and photocopied secret govt. papers which proved our leaders knew the Vietnam war was a lost cause but they kept on wasting money and precious lives.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
http://www.pbs.org/pov/mostdangerousman/
To mesh this with another shameful portion of recent history, the McCarthy trials, the witch-hunt for communists, it seems to me this Drug War is mostly promulgated by a minority of people. Far too influential people, like Senator Joe McCarthy. A small group of people spreading their terror and delusions, in order to deceive and gain more power.
Who is going to stand up to these people and tell them of the overwhelmingly shameful, unconstitutional, un-American, and un-Biblical things they are doing? (Clearly it's not Obama.) Like with the Pentagoon papers, there are many documents which show the evil and failed nature of the Drug War. Reviews of the DARE program. Studies of ONDCP ads. The Schaffer Commission report which, in the early 1970's, advised re-legalizing marijuana. The DEA judge who said that cannabis was one of the least harmful drugs he was aware of. The statistics coming from Portugal. And I'm sure there are many other studies and papers which haven't come to light -- BRING THEM TO LIGHT! Please. This has been a public service announcement.
What incredible timing! Google Alerts send me this news item yesterday, and I thought I'd share ...
ReplyDeleteWhy Marijuana Will Soon Be Legalized
October 4, 2010 - Gainesville, GA --- The mounting reports of drug-related violence in Mexico have many citizens and travelers on high alert. Researchers at The Socionomics Institute warn that the war on drugs won't let up anytime soon. Not only will the drug wars in Mexico give Prohibition-era violence in the U.S. a run for its money, researchers at the Georgia think tank say it’s likely to signal the end of marijuana prohibition in Mexico and the U.S.
Page about the resource: http://www.socionomics.net/ezine/soc/marijuana-prohibition-drug-wars-in-mexico-the-war-on-drugs.aspx
Whoops, forgot to post the live link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.socionomics.net/ezine/soc/marijuana-prohibition-drug-wars-in-mexico-the-war-on-drugs.aspx