When did Mexico screw up?

I have to admit it.

I feel absolutely hopeless and completely appalled by the deterioration that Mexico has suffered in less than five years. And every single morning, after learning the news from Mexico, the same question comes to my mind again and again.

When did the country screw up? What was the breaking point?

I’ve asked this question to Mexican friends, scholars, and people that I interview for news stories. Their answers vary, which means that there is not a single explanation for what is going on in the country. In fact, not everybody agrees on the idea that the country is speeding downhill, which makes me think that being so close to Ciudad Juárez has affected my general vision on the country.

For the next days I’ll be sharing with you some of the answers that I have received for my questions and hopefully, these will lead us to a better understanding of the problem. You can add your own answers too.

Ismael Romero is a veteran journalist based in Mexico City. Here is his response:

I believe we should never see this with fatalism. People and countries don´t  break. I cannot see Mexico as a failed nation, as some people do.

I don´t think these questions should fuel a debate on Mexico´s situation. And we shouldn´t engage in confirming hypothesis in this direction. Mexico is not in a breaking point; Mexicans are not in a breaking point and there are no breaking points.

Where do you want to see that? In the number of behead people? In the number of corpses thrown on roads and streets? In the failures of President Felipe Calderon’s government? What a limited vision!

We are a country with a variety of cultures, we aspire to be a mature democracy. On that road, there will be problems, but not breaking points. 

The country has gone through different states and they all have left a mark.  We had an Independence movement that we still don’t understand; a political reform (Leyes de Reforma) that benefited the Church and protected a bunch of pedophiles; a Revolution that only benefited rich people. We also had a student movement that gave us hope and changes;  an election in 1988 that opened our eyes to democracy, an indians rights movement that played with our dreams, an economic crisis (1994-1995) that destroyed thousands of lives. We have an election in 2000 –which ended up 70 years of the PRI’s governments- and made us think that everything was possible, but in the end, it was just a big disappointment.

None of this has put Mexico in a turning point. We have overcome every chapter. We have a regular life, we are still here. A breaking point?

 

 

Comments

[915live]

I use to think that the devaluation(1994-1995) of the peso was the main reason for the hard pressed choices people had to make. I tend to remind close friends and relatives that economic factors also contributed to the violence and not only the united states consumption. While other issues are significant and important it seems the stratification of Mexico must push forth with solid answers when it comes to emphasizing a more solid infrastructure ie healthcare, prosperity, education for all, security and freedom! I'm tired of hearing the negative sides when and will the positive side of these heart wrenching actions happen and how? Who? and most importantly why?

Thank You

Joel Shaw

By the way love your articles keep up the good work.

Joel Shaw

[Lucas Alaman]

The current crisis, in my opinion, comes from President Calderon choosing to to engage in a war without the proper tools to neutralize the enemy. He needed a credible system of justice and a real, professional federal police force, (people who are well paid, well trained and supported and not just a bunch of 19 year old dillweeds armed with automatic rifles) to even have had a credible opportunity of suppresing the power of the drug gangs. The failure in Mexico essentially is the absolute lack of confidence that the Mexican public has in its system of justice. The rich can essentially buy it and the poor know they will get nothing from it and its officers, perpetually ill paid and double crossed by their own superiors have little incentive to uphold the law, except maybe out of duty to their own concious. The drug gangs actually offer more... and that is the greatest tragedy. Almost everyone in Mexico has participated, in one way or another, in perpetuating the corruption and the degradation of civic life. Those who skip on paying taxes, deny the state the revenues to provide their needs, those entrusted with the revenues of the state, abscond with them. Everyone decries the bribe that has to be paid to grease the wheeel of government, but few are willing to pay the price to amke an honest government viable. Everyone and no one is at fault. The happy little vacoum of pseudo governance, a wonderful leftover of the PRI dictatorship, left Mexico as a failed state waiting to happen. So now the rich flee, the poor stay and endure and the middle dissapears as its members gets squeezed into either direction.

[Toasted Whitebred]

It would be somewhat naive to think that what is happening in Mexico has never happened anywhere else in the world, or has never happened in any other period of time in history.

It is also a bit naive to think that this is simply a narco war, good guy against bad guy scenario.

What it is in some respects is a class war, a revolution, an economic war.

Mexico is one of the richest countries in terms of natural resources in the world yet most of that wealth is concentrated in a relatively small percentage of people. Oil, coastline, agriculture, tourism, precious metals, human resources etc, are just some of the incredible assets Mexico has yet their people are starving and have few opportunities to rise up.

I think when people are poor and hungry they do desperate things. As mexico moves forward, there must be a way to create wealth for the lower 'classes'.

Although unpopular here in the U.S. the phrase separation of wealth is something that the ruling parties in Mexico must look to accomplish if this war is to be won. Not talking about socialism, just capitalism in its truest form, giving all people an equal opportunity to capitalize on their toils.

[Jennifer]

Not long after the last revolution, when the soldiers went home and the politicians wrote a "constitution" that was readily and easily corrupted.

Mexico's society of corruption served the rich well for nearly a century. They had what they wanted, they bought government power to serve themselves and to hell with the peasants.

Only when the cartels has the cash to out-bribe the rich families, the whole corrupt house of cards fell apart.

Mexico is a failed country, despite claims to the contrary. Such a shame, because the Mexican people truly want better, however they are unarmed and ill-equipped to deal with the three headed monster of the rich, the government and now the cartels.

As Stalin said, it's not who votes but who counts the votes that hold the real power. And as Mao foretold, real political power comes from the barrel of a gun. Elections won't help Mexico, but an armed uprising will.

[michael]

It's a simple answer,but difficult to solve.When you have a country to the north that consumes and demands drugs and money is readily available you will always have this situation.Mexico's government is not capacitated to deal with this large endeavor and neither is the U.S.A.Until we come to the conclusion,as we did with the repeal of the 18th amendment,that we cannot enforce public morality.

[Chuck]

I have no real idea, but I do feel that Mr. Romero's answer to your question is a cop-out and reflects his great denial. I have some notion that the problem stems from the corrupt and long-standing deal between the Mexican government and corporations that puts the power system of the country in private hands and leaves only small room for advancement through productive channels to the average citizen. Young men turn to crime and violence seeing no alternative to have a good life.

But I am really writing to say that I greatly enjoy your blog and learn a great deal from your insight.

[border guy]

i think everything sstarted with education, we had great educators like vasconcelos and torres bodet, but later televisa along with goverment introduced soap operas and soccer games to alienate people's minds the result is a country that reads an average of 2 books a year; i've been in chile where 97% of the people are literate and what a difference they have marvelous highways, cleaniness everywhere, honesty and hardworking but they had pinochet along the us, then appeared the ugly elba gordillo to control the education union and as a result our level of education is lower that the us in the primary school (before that like 10 years from now math and basics were better in mexico, in fact if u had to go to mexico u will down one year). The gov is disarming people, the law are punishing home owners, no jobs, corruption politicians are paid like first world officers in a third world country with 0 million people living daily with one dollar, with slim the number one rich man on earth and some other 3 in the top ten. wonder why kids want to be like narcos?. We need a plan like marshall after war or a new deal like rooselvet's in mexico sponsored and administrated by the us, a new system that give us more belonging to the nafta with canada and the us. also we cannot protest without education the key factor and people are very passive. Otherwise we'll continue to see emigration to the north, spain is another example before 1992 integration with the european union it was the lowest country in europe, now they even are world champions in sports like soccer, basketball, cycling.....

[border guy]

it is 40 million people living below the poverty limit according with un standards one dollar or less daily. Also there millions of young people without education and without jobs.

[Alice in Ky]

some intelligent, contemplative comments, exactly what this blog deserves. Jennifer puts it succinctly, but accurately, in my view. Gracias, to all who commented. A simple problem of "us vs them" is highly complex, as is stated here.

[V]

Jennifer is correct. Corruption at every level of society that has outlived generations of Mexicans. From the Presidency to the lowly street cop corruption is a way of life a part of the culture. Add the billions of dollars in the drug trade and the outcome is a cancer that is finally consumming its victim.
If you ask most economically disadvantaged Mexicans what the country needs they will tell you that they need another revolution to clean house and rid themselves of the useless government that they have. The only reason why it has not happened yet is because the common peasant does not have access to money, weapons, or organization. Unfortunately, the drug cartels are in a position to exploid this harsh reality. Hopefully, their greed is greater than there intelligence.

[Chepito Torresmochas]

This is not just a "Mexican problem." The drug violence is there because a) the U.S. provides the guns and b) the U.S. pays for the drugs. Legalize drugs in the U.S. and restrict gun sales, and the Mexican state can mop up the drug dealers in 1 year.