Like the metastasis of a terminal disease, the violence in Mexico is spreading throughout the entire country with a speed that makes it almost impossible to keep the smallest bit of hope.
Last week, Monterrey –the third largest city in Mexico and the capital of Nuevo León state– broke a bloody record with 33 people killed in one single day. It was the goriest day of a war that has left more than 650 people dead this year. Two of the state governor’s bodyguards were also killed and mutilated during the week.
Monterrey is the industrial capital of the country and it is also Mexico’s wealthiest city. It generates around 7.5 percent of the national gross product and houses offices for foreign companies such as John Deere, Caterpillar, BASF, Johnson & Johnson, Mercedes Benz, General Electric, Siemens and Mitsubishi, just to mention a few.
Monterrey used to be synonymous with progress and entrepreneurial spirit. Its residents used to boast about being part of a first-world and Americanized city. But now that’s in the past. While two cartels –the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel– battle each other over the control of Nuevo León’s trafficking routes, authorities seem to be stunned by the violence and the citizens are disheartened.
As most of the cities in the country, Monterrey also has problems of police corruption and impunity. It also has a huge problem of unequal distribution of wealth and a growing problem of neglected population. In few words, it has everything to become another Ciudad Juárez with its thousands of killed people every year.
Just a few years ago it would have been inconceivable to think that Monterrey, the center of economic power in Mexico, would be so affected by drug-trafficking violence. The flawed logic behind that naïve idea was that the government, the authorities and Monterrey’s upper crust wouldn’t allow the cartels to touch their interests and risk the flow of foreign investment into the city.
But that thought proved to be wrong. And as one executive of Femsa told Reuters recently, “if we can’t deal with the problem in Monterrey, with all the resources and the people we have there, then that is a serious concern for the rest of Mexico”.
To this day there isn’t a clear strategy to fight crime in Monterrey. The federal government has sent some troops to help the state and municipal police, but there isn’t any evidence that crime is declining. And despite all the noise coming from the state government regarding their new police forces, corruption still reigns within the corporation. In fact, 22 officers were arrested recently because of their alleged participation in the torture and killing of the governor’s bodyguards.
It seems that Monterrey is falling apart and unfortunately there is nothing to suggest that the trend is going to stop.
As with a terminal disease, the cancer is attacking a vital center. The tumor had already provoked irreversible damage to places such as Michoacán, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Durango, Sinaloa, Coahuila and many more...Now is getting worse in Monterrey, tomorrow will be Guadalajara and later on Mexico City. When it happens, the country will be screwed up.
Good article, powerfully correct metaphor of cancer. Two comments: as someone living in Michoacan, I would say the cancer is spreading with the new battles between factions of La Familia, especially Los Caballeros Templarios. But I don't think the damage is "irreversible" as of yet.
Second, picky comment, I think you meant to end the article by saying "the country will be screwed." Both Mexico and the U.S. are already "screwed up" in their shared war against drugs.
Posted by: J Reed Brundage | 06/21/2011 at 08:37 PM
The question on the back of our minds in the USA is, when will this spill over the border?
Posted by: Moonbreaker | 07/17/2011 at 09:12 PM
"As with a terminal disease, the cancer is attacking a vital center. The tumor had already provoked irreversible damage to places such as Michoacán, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Durango, Sinaloa, Coahuila and many more...Now is getting worse in Monterrey, tomorrow will be Guadalajara and later on Mexico City. When it happens, the country will be screwed up."
And it is not screwed up now?
Oh, and it spills over to America's States and cities.
Posted by: pgillenw | 08/19/2011 at 05:08 PM
It is already spilling over to our side of the border. My question is, will it reach our major cities...... Chicago, Georgia, etc.
Posted by: O del | 11/10/2011 at 08:53 PM