'coruption in mexican government' Politics  

coruption in mexican government

Bryan from CB CA - Mon May 26 18:08:47 2008

Why does it seem that mexico has such a unstable govenment that is rife with corruption from top to bottom? What seems to be the root of this issue?

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Comment #1 eyes4 from The Beach - Mon Jun 2 20:44:51 2008

Bryan, the folks at Stratfor (a private intelligence company) seem to believe the State is almost at a toppling point do to the prolific drug trade and the armed soldiers required to protect and transport their product. They cite the recent broad daylight assassinations of government officials and police leaders.

Of course, as analysts they leave wiggle room in their report for unforeseen events to change the stated outcome... Like - the U.S. could send 'help' at the Mexican Government's request....

Comment #2 eyes4 from The Beach - Tue Jun 3 22:02:11 2008

Blackwater USA looks excited about this story:

Drug lords go after Mexican police officers

Dated May 18, 2008 in the Washington Post.com taken from Mark Stevenson of the Associated Press.

The article can be found with a short search on the Post's site.

In summary:

Targeting policemen, the drug cartels are ratcheting up the pressure down south. It appears that the situation may be changing from a criminal problem to a terrorist problem.

eyes4

Comment #3 eyes4 from The Beach - Thu Jun 5 05:17:06 2008

It would be refreshing to me to have someone actually ask for a bribe outright. Corruption doesn't have to be as ugly as the phrase makes it sound. It beats violence any time in my book.

Comment #4 DianaR from USA - Thu Jun 5 12:31:55 2008

Are these stories about drug lords true, or are they meant to feed fear about legalizing marijuana in the USA?

Do people SEE armed drug lords going up and down their neighborhood streets, threatening residents?

What detrimental developments do residents see that can be directly attributable to the government dealing with armed drgu lords?

Comment #5 eyes4 from The Beach - Sat Jun 7 03:25:47 2008

The stories are true.

Check out "Killing Pablo" by Mark Bowden. It's about the Columbian cocaine king-pin Pablo Escobar. Transfer this information to Mexico and you've got the current situation down.

The drug cartels take public responsibility for the murders, rape, and other violence in the neighborhoods in order to terrorize the citizens and government. The government loses the face when the gangs do this. Giving the drug cartels more power in the country.

From what I've heard, there are four things that can be the root cause of corruption there;

1) - The politicians run everything there. [Politicians of course cannot be trusted with anything.]

2) - The industries not state-owned are taxed and regulated to death.

3) - Extreme poverty and Extreme wealth in close proximity.

4) - The massive profits brought into the country through the drug trade. [Money is power everywhere] Once the money has been used to buy power from an official, the buyer now has provable evidence of bribery to blackmail the official.

The vicious circle continues from there.

Legalizing drugs in the US will not reduce the violence or corruption.

Comment #6 Mark (152.163.37.121) - Sat Jun 7 06:49:17 2008

My wife is from Colombia (we met when I was traveling there). She always said "Mexico is more dangerous than Colombia"... low and behold one say I was reading CNN online and they had an article which said that "Mexico is now more dangerous than Colombia".... and Colombia has been engaged in an ongoing civil war for 50 or so years!

I think one of the differences is that Colombia's dangers and drugs have been traditionally related to the civil war. While in Mexico the "established" government tends toward excessive corruption.

Comment #7 EugenS from Europe - Fri Jun 13 05:17:21 2008

It's because of the people who rule the country. They're too afraid of the drug cartels and are in too deep. They make good money turning their faces from the problems, and that only makes it worse for people there. It's happening in Eastern Europe too!

Comment #8 DianaR from USA - Sat Jun 14 19:18:06 2008

The proximity of the wealthy to the impoverished might be something the USA needs to look at. The way things are going, The States may be facing the same resentments in its own population!

Comment #9 EugenS from Europe - Wed Jun 18 08:22:30 2008

I think they already are. Think about the gap between the ultra rich and the ultra poor. It's getting wider every year.

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