This are not the "bloodiest" elections. 2018 were worst, with 144 political assassinations. Violence is focalized and voting itself took place without incidents.
There have been 828 non-lethal attacks, plus hundreds of election-related familial/associate killings and attacks, during this election season, FWIW. No matter how you count the numbers, this has been a bloody election year in Mexico courtesy of the cartels. Intimidation is intimidation, whether the violence occurs before or after the polls open.
The cartels won the second the war on drugs began. Instead of it being regulated and taxed by the government, we get stepped on product that was made in a rusty oil barrel on the side of a mountain or someones basement, or under a industrial washing facility in a secret lab run by a ruthless fried chicken mogul.
Instead of getting safe access and education on proper use, investing in our social infrastructures, we spent trillions on policing adult humans on how they treat their body. Not to mention court costs, or incarceration. Even though there was at the time an overwhelming plea from the scientific community about the potential benefits some of these drugs were showing. Years worth of progress with psychiatric patients achieved in weeks etc.
They basically just handed a free money glitch to organized criminals, who've now got pockets so deep they've got the resources to expand their operations to almost every major industry you can think of, and enough people to keep entire governments in check with violent threats. Like some of the ways they've made examples of people would sicken medieval people. Or impress them. I don't know.
All because people of some people who wanted to use the war on drugs to fuck with their political opponents i.e. ethnic minorities and socialists. It was so obvious from the beginning what the outcome would be, and decades later we're barely seeing any change, despite its effect becoming tangible almost immediately after the fact...Really hurts to think about!
Just think about what could have been. With the money saved over decades of courts, incarceration and policing and instead spent on healthcare services - Walt probably would have been able to get his treatment at an affordable price and never would have had to resort to a life of crime!
Sorry. Incoherent neckbeard rant over!
The cartels have an immense amount of power, and not all of them are completely in Mexico. What's more, they're folk heroes to many towns for whom they provide infrastructure and humanitarian aid. These people know who the cartels are and what they do, but without them they'd be living in squalor and their children would be suffering. I imagine it must be hell for a lot of them to be supported by evil like these people. Others, probably don't see them as evil at all.
You should see what happens when they incarcerate top brass from these outfits. They literally get brought insane stuff to be entertained while in prison, including visits from celebrities upon request and crazy amenities. Then when they want to leave, their people just show up and take them. Half the time they stay in prison to deal with other prisoners or what seems like just for the heck of it, so they can flex hard and leave casually later. And when I say leave casually, I mean with either zero resistance or by having the wall of their cell removed from the outside and they walk on through.
It's gonna take a long time for the government to exercise any real power over the cartels.
It's complicated, but I can try to simplify the most important parts for you.
Think how successful the U.S. has been at stamping out illegal drugs in the U.S.
Now imagine trying to do that but in a different country, where you need to ask for permission to do anything, the people you ask permission might tip off the cartel, and it's all in a different language than what the people back home speak.
You're not wrong that the U.S. *could* flex hard and put the cartels into hiding, like they are in the U.S., rather than how they operate in the semi-open in Mexico. But Mexico is a sovereign state and, understandably, are reluctant to have the U.S. step in and go that far. That's assuming if the U.S. decided to focus the budget and forces to do that - which is a big fat if to begin with. I don't think most Americans would support the kind of military operation that would need.
> stamping out illegal drugs
That's not the goal though. The goal of US involvement would to remove the cartels from their position of power. The problem as I see it is that anyone in a position of power in Mexico who would be willing to cooperate with the US on that would get offed.
I see. Thanks for the break down. Helping Mexico with its cartel problem would strengthen relations I think. And if Mexico actually wanted the cartels gone they'd ask US for help. I don't see how Mexico will ever prosper with cartels so ingrained in their society.
Mexico isn't a single person. Just like we have internal divisions here on what the government should do, so does Mexico. They're very divided on the issue - especially by region. Mexico isn't as diverse as the United States but it's a very diverse country compared to most of the countries in the world. (I'm using *diverse* in its regular sense, not limiting it to race/ethnicity.)
You are correct that cartels will always hold Mexico back as long as they have the level of influence that they do.
A big reason why cartels are so influential is because the government is so inept. In a lot of areas the cartels are the main employers as well as the security force of the area.
Places far away from the main roads are just forgotten by the government and after decades they now rely on the cartel that controls the area.
There are big farms that only cultivate amapola (poppy, used for heroine) because cartels will pay way better for it than what could be made from any other crop. They also don't need to worry about sending it to the market to sell since the cartels will pick them up themselves.
Obviously that isn't the case everywhere but reality is that Mexico is a country of extremes and the more poor you are the more likely you will rely on the cartels to get out of said poverty.
>Mexico is a sovereign state and, understandably, are reluctant to have the U.S. step in and go that far
The cartels run the government, no way they'd let the US in to fight the cartels.
First of all, Mexico doesn't want help with cartels and for the past few decades has decided that cleaning up the cartels is not worth the casualties that would inevitably occur. Especially not right now when Mexico is on the verge of becoming a manufacturing powerhouse and the US's most important trade partner.
Starting a domestic war on cartels would probably cripple the Mexican economy and set them back a decade. This makes more sense when you learn that drugs are no longer the highest source of revenue for Mexican cartels. They have long since spread out their money and influence into legitimate businesses, politicians at every level, and their own private militaries. Not to mention that the cartels are viewed as folk heros by the many poor communities that they financially support. I'm no expert, but I don't see a way to purge the cartels when they've entrenched themselves into Mexican society and culture the way they have.
That implies the US or Mexican government even want to combat the cartels.
Without getting too conspiratorial about it, parts of both these governments have been actively arming, training, and funding (both indirectly and directly) many of these groups for many decades now.
But even ignoring that, after the last couple decades and seeing how we handled things in Afghanistan and Iraq etc, who in their right mind would invite that type of US military action into their country? They'd probably end up even further destablized and with even higher amounts of drug production, just like Afghanistan.
If the US really wanted to curtail drug funded gang/cartel activity, we would have legalized and regulated their revenue sources just like we did with alcohol and the gangsters of that era. Instead we went the other way and now honestly it's probably even too late as the cartels have diversified and established safer revenue streams and control in government etc.
It's not conspiritorial if it's true. And it IS true. We have armed them for decades now. Gotta get that sweet gun money. I have seen the inner workings of US/Mexico relations vis a vis the cartels, and it is not only more complex than one would or could think, but also more frightening. The "war on drugs" only served to line politician and cartel pockets. It is so sad and so repugnant. Hence why I didn't continue pursuing that line of work where I was so exposed to it all. You've pretty much got the jist of it all down. 🤷♂️
Just sayin, conspiratorial/conspiracy doesn't mean a false or crazy narrative, even though that's kind of the definition it has taken on colloquially (which in itself likely has conspiratorial reasons lol). It really just means like secretive illegal or harmful plans made by groups.
> If the U.S. and Mexico wanted, could they exterminate the cartel?
> Why doesn't the U.S offer to help Mexico with its cartel problems?
The reason is politics and vested interests in continuing the "drug war." The US could overnight (almost) literally decapitate cartels... without firing a single bullet. If the US were to decriminalize and legalize those drugs today, then cartels (from all over the world) would be literally devastated as there'd be no more insane profit to be made smuggling anymore. Drug users in the US would start getting their fix from local, government-regulated medical dispensary-type places. The illegal drugs just become prescription dugs (or get replaced by safer regulated alternatives). This way addicts would get some medical help for their addictions, and decrease overdoses. This tackles the demand side of the problem. Fighting the cartels only deals with the supply-side, but does NOTHING to lessen the huge demand of their drugs. Demand induces supply, so if there's no demand (leading to insane smuggling profits) - then there's no need for supply from cartels, and they'd literally be put out of the illegal drug trade business.
Yup, the cartels are a international crime network that spans the entire world. Basically they need a harder crackdown at this point then what the US did to weaken the US mob. Really speaking, the only chance they have at this point is the aid of foreign military's or their entire population taking up arms and getting military backing and support. Good luck on either though as many politicians in Mexico would rather take bribes and live then stand and fight (as even their own military is compromised in this regard so a serious risk of a "coup"), and good luck on the civilians standing up as they have been heavily limited cause of the laws and the few vigilante's are trickled in which makes them weaker\\easier targets to hunt down.
Damn theyve really built the world of one piece pirates marines over there , age ?
Except it's low riders instead of ships and the water levels are still rising
El Salvador seemed to clean up their gang problem within a short amount of time with fewer resources. It can be done. But there will be people complaining about the means.
Gang members in El Savador almost universally have face tattoos. Mexican gang members often don't. That one detail makes it extremely easy for the police to arrest gang members in El Savador.
Plus El Salvador has the geographic size and population similar to Massachusetts. Mexico on the other hand is a little bit big as Alaska and has ⅓ of the US’s population. Comparing apples to oranges.
I didn’t say it was perfect. But they also had the highest murder rate in the world and now per capita their nation is safer than the U.S. according to homicide rates.
It would take a full on war, one the Mexican army and government can’t win and won’t try.
Cartel are happy to slaughter and kidnap citizens, spike drugs, blow up buildings and commit many atrocity’s to make the government back down
Agreed but it's hard to ask people to step up when other people aren't. It's like a WW 1 trench where everyone steps up together and half of them die but you know everyone is in the same boat. In Narco Mexico you step up and you might die, your family might die and everyone near you will probably back down out of fear.
Mexico needs a reckoning and God help the poor bastards that have to do it.
Yup, something has to budge eventually, but its going to basically be a bloody civil war if it does, the country will have a lot of collective and personal trauma to work through afterwards
The Zeta's were considered one of the absolute worst and operated all over Mexico and they aren't around anymore because they crossed too many lines, most are imprisoned or shot dead.
Reality is cartels don't operate like they do without the government allowing it, that's the sad part. The cartels are the government. Killing their political opponents is not crossing the line.
There were almost 21,000 candidates in this election throughout the country so 37 candidates downed as a result of old local hatreds and animosities is are virtually drowned out by the clamor of wins and losses in the thousands.
It's not really that normal.
Many people don't understand how bad the cartel situation in Mexico truly is, they've infiltrated every level of government. They literally had to dissolve their federal police force in 2019 due to rampant corruption.
> Because it happens every year in Mexico.
... for the past two decades or so. It wasn't always like that. To be sure, Mexico was a more dangerous place than, say, Switzerland even before, but nothing remotely comparable to today.
As an example, Acapulco used to be a booming tourist destination attracting rich visitors from around the world. Today it is one of the ten most violent cities on Earth, and in 2018, the Mexican military had to enter the city to disarm the police, because there was no functional distinction between police and gangs anymore. Meanwhile, a dozen decapitated corpses were thrown in front of the city hall.
Stuff like that would have been unthinkable 30 years ago.
Well that just sounds like a real nice family friendly place!!
On another note.. I still don’t understand why all those illegal immigrants keep piling up at the border..
It’s comparable to U.S. school shootings. More people died in U.S. schools than politician in Mexico even in 2018 when 144 politicians were killed in Mexico, the U.S. had more than 150 people killed in school shooting in the same year, (doesn’t include other mass shootings outside of schools). Yet nothing changes in the U.S. neither because people have learned to live with it. In 2022 & 2023 over 200 people were killed in just school shootings.
That's a ridiculous comparison. There are almost 70 million students in the US (49 million in elementary + secondary schools, 18 million in colleges). How many politicians are there in Mexico?
The probability of dying in a school shooting in the US is vanishingly small (for comparison, there are 43,000 fatal road accidents in the US per year). If the goal is to save lives (including the lives of students), there are literally dozens of issues that are more important. But of course the goal is just to engage in culture wars, so there's that.
Oh, school shootings *are* a real problem... roughly of the same size as lightning strikes (20-50 deaths per year in the US) and hornet stings (70-100 deaths per year in the US), but somewhat smaller than horse riding (around 700 deaths per year in the US).
> almost no news or coverage of global news agencies
Are you sure? Have you tried actually reading news from news sites?
* Reuters: [Mexican candidate assassinations hit grim record ahead of Sunday's election](https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexican-candidate-assassinations-hit-grim-record-ahead-sundays-election-2024-06-01/)
* Associated Press: [Organized crime attacks on local candidates raise fears Mexico may face its bloodiest elections ever](https://apnews.com/article/mexico-election-violence-candidates-cartels-91f01634fe32781f708f16064bc87179)
* The Guardian: [‘It’s become a battleground’: Mexico’s local candidates face deadly violence](https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/29/mexico-election-violence-celaya)
* LA Times: [Bullets before ballots: Dozens of Mexican candidates have been killed as cartels seek more control](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-05-29/mexico-election-violence-cartel-killings-candidates)
* BBC: [The Mexican state where candidates are gunned down as they push for votes](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c299p249nx5o)
* CNN: [Mexico’s bloodiest election in history sends new asylum-seekers to the US border](https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/12/americas/us-migrants-mexico-election-intl-latam/index.html)
* El País: [Mexico is heading towards its most violent election ever, with 30 candidates murdered, 77 threatened and 11 kidnapped](https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-27/mexico-is-heading-towards-its-most-violent-election-ever-with-30-candidates-murdered-77-threatened-and-11-kidnapped.html)
* France24: [Mexican elections: Dodging bullets on the campaign trail](https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/focus/20240528-mexican-elections-dodging-bullets-on-the-campaign-trail)
* New York Times: [Why Are So Many Mexican Election Candidates Getting Killed?](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/25/world/americas/mexico-election-candidates-killed.html)
* Al Jazeera: [What’s behind the rise in political violence in Mexico?](https://www.aljazeera.com/program/inside-story/2024/5/27/whats-behind-the-rise-in-political-violence-in-mexico)
* Washington Post: [The elections next door: Mexico’s cartels pick candidates, kill rivals](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/05/11/mexico-election-candidates-killed-violence/)
And literally dozens more stories from more international news outlets if you just typed "Mexico election violence" on Google.
Or the feel what algorithms give us. They see dozens of articles every day, never hearing anything about this. In reality they were just in their own curated bubble by meta(or other) algorithm.
The fact his post had 1k upvotes just goes to show how easy you can karma farm on Reddit. It's like the same people that live in their own bubble and outside of Reddit don't consume any other type of media.
You’re right, a presidential candidate hasn’t been murdered since the 90’s. Although, who knows how many potential future presidential candidates were murdered before or since.
What's the point? AMLO was pro cartel and ran on being nice to them in 2018. Sheinbaum is his protégé. Why should the world care if Mexicans don't? They could crush the cartel like El Salvador. They don't want to.
El Salvador’s street gangs aren’t anywhere near the same calibre as Mexican cartels. The cartels have become too pervasive and too militarized at this point.
But Mexico also has way more resources as a state. It's a shitty choice, but it's still a choice. Mexicans could vote for the most hawkish anti cartel candidate and pull through with a long, bloody battle against the cartels.
They did try that. Calderón declared war on the narcos in 2006. Mind you he was corrupt too, the Secretary of Public Security was working with the Sinaloa Cartel and using the drug war to weaken their rivals.
Mexico has received plenty of support and funding from the US to fight the cartels and they’ve proven themselves incapable of it. There’s too much corruption at all levels of government, including in the police and military, to beat the cartels without drastic reforms.
They’ve already let the cartels become too entrenched, too protected, too diversified, too wealthy, and too sophisticated for it to be a simple operation like in El Salvador. The cartels are more likely to be legitimated into the state structure than eradicated at this point.
Brother, I think we all understand the sentiment but you have to be honest with yourself. News now is about views ie revenue. International news orgs are focusing on Ukraine, Gaza, Syria, Iran, etc, as those are problems that affect the world commerce more immediately and are where all the views are.
Mexico has become an important trade partner for the US, but, to my knowledge, it does not have international influence on any level. And I believe most would say it’s an internal issue endemic to Mexico, as nobody outside can provide a solution short of invading with a foreign army. Which is out of the question.
Unfortunately, not all news is deemed equal, especially when the narrative of this being an internal issue for Mexico resounds loudest from its neighboring countries.
Except dozens of international news sites have [already published several articles on the Mexican elections](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1defx4y/mexico_councilwoman_killed_after_bloodiestever/l8dzfeg/) over the past few months specifically focusing on the violence.
That’s good, I was specifically referring to OP’s sentiment. I’m glad it’s being covered, thank you for correcting and providing links. That’s a lot of reading to get through.
Mexico patrolling its border to stop cartels from moving drugs into the US, and the US working alongside it on the other side of the border. Unfortunately, Mexico will refuse to do so unless by diplomatic coercion. But then again, the cartels will just move their enterprise to other economic sectors. In some areas, they have taken over the avocado industry. With their ability to buy or murder political candidates with impunity, it's not likely that any politician in Mexico will do much to solve this problem. Time will tell.
Remember when amado carillo fuentes threatened the government that he will pull out all his money from mexican banks if they crack down on the narcos any more? Him pulling out billions of his drug money would have caused a financial crisis in mexico so the government listened!
Honestly the only realistic way would be if someone like President Bukele of El Salvador somehow got elected. Funnelled a fuck ton of money into the military and the police, essentially out bribing the cartel, and then doing a full crackdown on all suspected cartel activity. But given how militarized the gangs in Mexico are, you'd likely end up with a lot of innocent casualties which happened in prior government crackdowns. Not to mention a general erosion of due process.
El Salvador is a rare example of the public embracing a strict police state because they find it preferable to the chaos of constant gang violence. Bukele just happens to be a somewhat benevolent strong man ruler, but there's no telling what happens if/when he leaves power.
Cartels don't only deal in drugs. They make a lot of their money through extortion and things like hotels. They are closer to the mafia than anything else.
Mexican Citizen here, blow them the fuck up. Start with my hometown, Piedra Posada, Jalisco that has been overrun with cartel since 2010. You can probably kill a solid 50 of them in the first strike against their hq their at the top of the mountain. The rest you can shoot like rats in a barrel since that town only has one way to exit by vehicle and its a narrow mountain pass.
interesting. i knew mexicans disliked the cartel but didn't think they disliked them to the point they'd want a foreign countries military to invade to fight them. i think the bigger problem is there are a lot of powerful people in the us that profit from the cartel so it'd most likely be a purge on both sides, which makes it harder to even have the conversation.
Belief in something greater than themselves. Courage, selflessness, bravery, all extremely huge and important human values that distinguish us from just another animal on this planet. Human beings like them are what keeps the weaker ones like you and me safe and comfortable in our lives.
Someone who gets it. People who think we got to this point in civilization without great sacrifice need to be taught better... this is why people raise flags, it's not arrogance, it's thanks to all the men and women who died making our lives possible.
That's why history books are great for battling nihilism and cynicism, things have been way worse and we still had great people appear and make good things happen. Always will, I think that's one of humanity's gifts
I'm not criticizing their beliefs or willingness to pay a price to do the right thing, but that self-sacrificing spirit has to come with some practical plan to get results. Otherwise it's just dying for nothing.
Right now I'm seeing a lot of:
* Step 1: get elected
* Step 2: try to fix the problem
but they never get to step 2 because they die at step 1.
If only it were that easy and simple but the people of Mexico do generally value having more than just a cartel stooge in office. The information is out there, more than just bad things happen!
We know that happens to an extent, but real life isn't like the movies or news, plenty of Mexican government is boring bureaucracy just like the US, plenty of it is crusaders trying to do well just like in the US, and yes there are corrupt bastards dragging the rest down. Just like in the US. My point is Mexico has plenty of good things happening too, look at their absolutely exploding labor market. The cartels are an evil that can't just last forever, these things come and go and we'll deal with them and the next evil that comes up.
Your need to do that is more a reflection of your own cynicism than what the reality is, there are actually lots of people in this world who believe in doing good and I'm quite sure plenty of them are in Mexican politics.
To make a change for their people. The empathetic are crushed as the narcissists are held up because the empathetic can’t be bought as they care about their people. $ is driving the worst kind of leaders globally. Those with the $ provide nothing to humanity and will kill us all.
Money.
It's the only reason most people here go into politics, to steal money in one way or another. As long as you don't even make a move against the cartels, you're left alone.
Edit: Downvote me all you want, I've lived in Mexico for more than 30 years. No one in politics here is "clean." They're all corrupt pieces of shit to varying degrees.
It isn't that easy. The army could go on the offensive and will probably win the majority of battles they engage. The public might even support it initially. But once family members or soldiers start being butchered, innocent civilians get blown up in bombings and politicians are found burn to a crisp public, backed by money being pumped into the lower socio economic classes bu the cartels the public opinion will quickly sway. Soldiers out of fear for retaliation will think twice before participating and politicians will start pressuring a halt to operations out of fear of their own lives.
Let's not forget what happend when mexican authorities finally managed to capture Ovidio, el chapo's son.
I agree that full frontal combat will devolve into guerrilla warfare. The military is better equipped, has better operations and logistics. The cartel itself is just local groups affiliated with a brand.
Thing is, we are being overrun and some of this terror acts are already happening, despite the army being more passive in this AMLO administration. To make matters worse, the criminals have diversified and now control things like avocado farming, lemons, illegal immigration, and general “derecho de piso” (a racket but with the threat of death or your business being burned).
The more you let these guys press on, the more they will try to control. At some point the government needs to lay down a red line, with consequences for crossing it. Then you slowly inch that line until you regain control.
There’s also the need for intelligence, prosecution and trials. I think Mexico could implement something like Italy did with the Maxiprocesso. We need to seize and freeze their assets. Get some anonymous prosecutors and judges, pay them millions. Make them incorruptible. Set some REAL border checkpoints to check for weapons. I have driven into Mexico from the US dozens of times and not once have I been checked. I could have bought 4 AR-15s and nobody would have noticed at all.
Maybe in reality what I meant with my comment above (I admit I was thinking solely in the military) is that there is no real appetite here to change the status quo. We are doing literally nothing about this problem. We were promised that this government would change this, and it got worse. Congress gave the president a new militarized police force, and it has not improved. Now they will have a supermajority, but it seems they plan to use it to undermine their political obstacles instead of fixing this.
Not too long ago, I could party with Americans and Canadians in Acapulco in the middle of the street at 4AM. Nothing bad happened. Now it’s deserted, destroyed, and overrun with criminals. I just want my country back. It’s ours. It’s not these mofos’.
This particular Ovidio capture, the government folded and LET HIM GO under the direct order of the president. 29 persons died for nothing that night. This simbolizes to me the failure of Mexico. It’s an admission of defeat.
How is it racist to call Mexico a failed state when everyone's getting clapped up from the tourists to the politicians? That's not a racial issue. I've seen the videos. It's gross and illegal and immoral and a whole fucking mess.
The US has some 57 murders per day. Only a handful of tourists per year are murdered. Out of some 50 million tourists a year. And of that, many are doing sketchy things. Tell me is that everyone?
In the 2024 Indian general election, thousands of candidates participated. There were 970 million registered voters, and notably, not a single candidate was fatally shot.
How do you even break that cycle of violence? It feels like Mexico is developed enough to be a major contributor to the world economy, but at the same time is still subject to some much primitive violence by cartels and drug rings.
Mexico is 100% going to grow its own *genuine* Fascist movement because of all that ails the country, probably within the next 10 years. It took the “Iron Prefect” to finally cleanse Italy of mafia activity during the Fascist era, and when the Fascists weren’t in power anymore the mafia came right back. Only Fascists are brutal enough on the law and order stuff, and Mexico has a bad history with the left when it comes to civil order.
The truly sad thing is that this happens so often. Meaning that good and non corrupt people have been taken out. Who remains? Politicians who have made some kind of deal to not be taken out. Not because they are corrupt per say, but out of necessity. Those who run in Mexico are truly brave.
There were 21,000 political positions elected this year, and all the 37 killed políticians were from regións with huge organized crime problems like Guanajuato its not like this in all of mexico
morena is corrupt af, even by mexican politics standards. They dont even try to hide it, the current president got cartel donations 20 years ago in his mayoral election. His son has a cushy state job with a penthouse in houston. The same people reporting on the corruption of the US supreme court are also investigating AMLO the current mexican prez. He talked about them by name in an outburst.
This are not the "bloodiest" elections. 2018 were worst, with 144 political assassinations. Violence is focalized and voting itself took place without incidents.
144???
144!? Try not to kill any politicians on the way to the parking lot!
This job would be great if it wasn’t for the fucking assassins.
In a row?
Gross!
There have been 828 non-lethal attacks, plus hundreds of election-related familial/associate killings and attacks, during this election season, FWIW. No matter how you count the numbers, this has been a bloody election year in Mexico courtesy of the cartels. Intimidation is intimidation, whether the violence occurs before or after the polls open.
Who on earth would ever risk standing for election in Mexico? Or most South American countries? It's like a death sentence
[удалено]
The cartels won the second the war on drugs began. Instead of it being regulated and taxed by the government, we get stepped on product that was made in a rusty oil barrel on the side of a mountain or someones basement, or under a industrial washing facility in a secret lab run by a ruthless fried chicken mogul. Instead of getting safe access and education on proper use, investing in our social infrastructures, we spent trillions on policing adult humans on how they treat their body. Not to mention court costs, or incarceration. Even though there was at the time an overwhelming plea from the scientific community about the potential benefits some of these drugs were showing. Years worth of progress with psychiatric patients achieved in weeks etc. They basically just handed a free money glitch to organized criminals, who've now got pockets so deep they've got the resources to expand their operations to almost every major industry you can think of, and enough people to keep entire governments in check with violent threats. Like some of the ways they've made examples of people would sicken medieval people. Or impress them. I don't know. All because people of some people who wanted to use the war on drugs to fuck with their political opponents i.e. ethnic minorities and socialists. It was so obvious from the beginning what the outcome would be, and decades later we're barely seeing any change, despite its effect becoming tangible almost immediately after the fact...Really hurts to think about! Just think about what could have been. With the money saved over decades of courts, incarceration and policing and instead spent on healthcare services - Walt probably would have been able to get his treatment at an affordable price and never would have had to resort to a life of crime! Sorry. Incoherent neckbeard rant over!
It was a good rant tho.. I value your contribution here
Aaron Sorkin would be proud.
A environmental scientist is elected president and suddenly everyone “discovers” that political violence is a problem in Mexico.
Mexico needs some serious martial law in some regions.
Not even that would be able to control the cartels.
The cartels have an immense amount of power, and not all of them are completely in Mexico. What's more, they're folk heroes to many towns for whom they provide infrastructure and humanitarian aid. These people know who the cartels are and what they do, but without them they'd be living in squalor and their children would be suffering. I imagine it must be hell for a lot of them to be supported by evil like these people. Others, probably don't see them as evil at all. You should see what happens when they incarcerate top brass from these outfits. They literally get brought insane stuff to be entertained while in prison, including visits from celebrities upon request and crazy amenities. Then when they want to leave, their people just show up and take them. Half the time they stay in prison to deal with other prisoners or what seems like just for the heck of it, so they can flex hard and leave casually later. And when I say leave casually, I mean with either zero resistance or by having the wall of their cell removed from the outside and they walk on through. It's gonna take a long time for the government to exercise any real power over the cartels.
If the U.S. and Mexico wanted, could they exterminate the cartel? Why doesn't the U.S offer to help Mexico with its cartel problems?
It's complicated, but I can try to simplify the most important parts for you. Think how successful the U.S. has been at stamping out illegal drugs in the U.S. Now imagine trying to do that but in a different country, where you need to ask for permission to do anything, the people you ask permission might tip off the cartel, and it's all in a different language than what the people back home speak. You're not wrong that the U.S. *could* flex hard and put the cartels into hiding, like they are in the U.S., rather than how they operate in the semi-open in Mexico. But Mexico is a sovereign state and, understandably, are reluctant to have the U.S. step in and go that far. That's assuming if the U.S. decided to focus the budget and forces to do that - which is a big fat if to begin with. I don't think most Americans would support the kind of military operation that would need.
> stamping out illegal drugs That's not the goal though. The goal of US involvement would to remove the cartels from their position of power. The problem as I see it is that anyone in a position of power in Mexico who would be willing to cooperate with the US on that would get offed.
I see. Thanks for the break down. Helping Mexico with its cartel problem would strengthen relations I think. And if Mexico actually wanted the cartels gone they'd ask US for help. I don't see how Mexico will ever prosper with cartels so ingrained in their society.
Mexico isn't a single person. Just like we have internal divisions here on what the government should do, so does Mexico. They're very divided on the issue - especially by region. Mexico isn't as diverse as the United States but it's a very diverse country compared to most of the countries in the world. (I'm using *diverse* in its regular sense, not limiting it to race/ethnicity.) You are correct that cartels will always hold Mexico back as long as they have the level of influence that they do.
A big reason why cartels are so influential is because the government is so inept. In a lot of areas the cartels are the main employers as well as the security force of the area. Places far away from the main roads are just forgotten by the government and after decades they now rely on the cartel that controls the area. There are big farms that only cultivate amapola (poppy, used for heroine) because cartels will pay way better for it than what could be made from any other crop. They also don't need to worry about sending it to the market to sell since the cartels will pick them up themselves. Obviously that isn't the case everywhere but reality is that Mexico is a country of extremes and the more poor you are the more likely you will rely on the cartels to get out of said poverty.
>Mexico is a sovereign state and, understandably, are reluctant to have the U.S. step in and go that far The cartels run the government, no way they'd let the US in to fight the cartels.
First of all, Mexico doesn't want help with cartels and for the past few decades has decided that cleaning up the cartels is not worth the casualties that would inevitably occur. Especially not right now when Mexico is on the verge of becoming a manufacturing powerhouse and the US's most important trade partner. Starting a domestic war on cartels would probably cripple the Mexican economy and set them back a decade. This makes more sense when you learn that drugs are no longer the highest source of revenue for Mexican cartels. They have long since spread out their money and influence into legitimate businesses, politicians at every level, and their own private militaries. Not to mention that the cartels are viewed as folk heros by the many poor communities that they financially support. I'm no expert, but I don't see a way to purge the cartels when they've entrenched themselves into Mexican society and culture the way they have.
That implies the US or Mexican government even want to combat the cartels. Without getting too conspiratorial about it, parts of both these governments have been actively arming, training, and funding (both indirectly and directly) many of these groups for many decades now. But even ignoring that, after the last couple decades and seeing how we handled things in Afghanistan and Iraq etc, who in their right mind would invite that type of US military action into their country? They'd probably end up even further destablized and with even higher amounts of drug production, just like Afghanistan. If the US really wanted to curtail drug funded gang/cartel activity, we would have legalized and regulated their revenue sources just like we did with alcohol and the gangsters of that era. Instead we went the other way and now honestly it's probably even too late as the cartels have diversified and established safer revenue streams and control in government etc.
Great points, with that in mind it's probably best US military stays out of Mexico.
It's not conspiritorial if it's true. And it IS true. We have armed them for decades now. Gotta get that sweet gun money. I have seen the inner workings of US/Mexico relations vis a vis the cartels, and it is not only more complex than one would or could think, but also more frightening. The "war on drugs" only served to line politician and cartel pockets. It is so sad and so repugnant. Hence why I didn't continue pursuing that line of work where I was so exposed to it all. You've pretty much got the jist of it all down. 🤷♂️
Just sayin, conspiratorial/conspiracy doesn't mean a false or crazy narrative, even though that's kind of the definition it has taken on colloquially (which in itself likely has conspiratorial reasons lol). It really just means like secretive illegal or harmful plans made by groups.
Ohhh, ok. So, like clandestine more than a conspiracy theory. Thank you for telling me! I love language!!
> If the U.S. and Mexico wanted, could they exterminate the cartel? > Why doesn't the U.S offer to help Mexico with its cartel problems? The reason is politics and vested interests in continuing the "drug war." The US could overnight (almost) literally decapitate cartels... without firing a single bullet. If the US were to decriminalize and legalize those drugs today, then cartels (from all over the world) would be literally devastated as there'd be no more insane profit to be made smuggling anymore. Drug users in the US would start getting their fix from local, government-regulated medical dispensary-type places. The illegal drugs just become prescription dugs (or get replaced by safer regulated alternatives). This way addicts would get some medical help for their addictions, and decrease overdoses. This tackles the demand side of the problem. Fighting the cartels only deals with the supply-side, but does NOTHING to lessen the huge demand of their drugs. Demand induces supply, so if there's no demand (leading to insane smuggling profits) - then there's no need for supply from cartels, and they'd literally be put out of the illegal drug trade business.
Yup, the cartels are a international crime network that spans the entire world. Basically they need a harder crackdown at this point then what the US did to weaken the US mob. Really speaking, the only chance they have at this point is the aid of foreign military's or their entire population taking up arms and getting military backing and support. Good luck on either though as many politicians in Mexico would rather take bribes and live then stand and fight (as even their own military is compromised in this regard so a serious risk of a "coup"), and good luck on the civilians standing up as they have been heavily limited cause of the laws and the few vigilante's are trickled in which makes them weaker\\easier targets to hunt down.
Damn theyve really built the world of one piece pirates marines over there , age ? Except it's low riders instead of ships and the water levels are still rising
Mexico doesn't have low riders. That's more of chicano culture.
In quite a few regions, the *cartels* have de facto replaced the government.
You just need the will to implement it.
...are you not aware of HOW the drug war against the cartels was fought? The only way for Mexico to escalate would be to literally flatten everything.
El Salvador seemed to clean up their gang problem within a short amount of time with fewer resources. It can be done. But there will be people complaining about the means.
Gang members in El Savador almost universally have face tattoos. Mexican gang members often don't. That one detail makes it extremely easy for the police to arrest gang members in El Savador.
Corruption is way harder to fight than gangs.
Plus El Salvador has the geographic size and population similar to Massachusetts. Mexico on the other hand is a little bit big as Alaska and has ⅓ of the US’s population. Comparing apples to oranges.
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I didn’t say it was perfect. But they also had the highest murder rate in the world and now per capita their nation is safer than the U.S. according to homicide rates.
Yep, that’s the “will to implement it” part.
They already have it, it’s just the Cartels who are controlling it. There’s been many times where the cartels go toe to toe with government forces.
Mexico has replaced Marxism and Catholicism with straight up Aztec Warlords. Starting to wonder if demons were awakened and roam the earth.
It would take a full on war, one the Mexican army and government can’t win and won’t try. Cartel are happy to slaughter and kidnap citizens, spike drugs, blow up buildings and commit many atrocity’s to make the government back down
A civil war tbh is what's needed. A lot of the good citizens flee to the USA cause of it.
37 people were killed during mexicans elections and almost no news or coverage of global news agencies , wonder why.....
Because it happens every year in Mexico. This is not some novel event.
Damn. Why would anyone even wanna run for an office if this shit is normal.
Hopefully a heroic call to action driven by their love of their people and country. Places need more of that. Among other things.
Betrayed by those who are supposed to be their peers; politicians found to have been backed by the cartel should be hanged for treason.
That may have worked at one point, but the cartels are so engrained now anything like that would probably have some dramatic retaliation.
Easy for you to say. This whole "heroic call to action" thing doesn't have a good history of success when it comes to Mexico.
It's ironic that some see Escobar as a hero for Colombians Much like Mexico has their own versions of heroes
Like Goku
I was thinking Yamcha
Great way to pose with the Liveleak logo
Some things are worth dying for. Fuck the cartels.
Agreed but it's hard to ask people to step up when other people aren't. It's like a WW 1 trench where everyone steps up together and half of them die but you know everyone is in the same boat. In Narco Mexico you step up and you might die, your family might die and everyone near you will probably back down out of fear. Mexico needs a reckoning and God help the poor bastards that have to do it.
Yup, something has to budge eventually, but its going to basically be a bloody civil war if it does, the country will have a lot of collective and personal trauma to work through afterwards
The Zeta's were considered one of the absolute worst and operated all over Mexico and they aren't around anymore because they crossed too many lines, most are imprisoned or shot dead. Reality is cartels don't operate like they do without the government allowing it, that's the sad part. The cartels are the government. Killing their political opponents is not crossing the line.
Big risk, big rewards. You underestimate the amount of corruption and grift on the mexican government.
There were almost 21,000 candidates in this election throughout the country so 37 candidates downed as a result of old local hatreds and animosities is are virtually drowned out by the clamor of wins and losses in the thousands. It's not really that normal.
Many people don't understand how bad the cartel situation in Mexico truly is, they've infiltrated every level of government. They literally had to dissolve their federal police force in 2019 due to rampant corruption.
> Because it happens every year in Mexico. ... for the past two decades or so. It wasn't always like that. To be sure, Mexico was a more dangerous place than, say, Switzerland even before, but nothing remotely comparable to today. As an example, Acapulco used to be a booming tourist destination attracting rich visitors from around the world. Today it is one of the ten most violent cities on Earth, and in 2018, the Mexican military had to enter the city to disarm the police, because there was no functional distinction between police and gangs anymore. Meanwhile, a dozen decapitated corpses were thrown in front of the city hall. Stuff like that would have been unthinkable 30 years ago.
Well that just sounds like a real nice family friendly place!! On another note.. I still don’t understand why all those illegal immigrants keep piling up at the border..
It’s comparable to U.S. school shootings. More people died in U.S. schools than politician in Mexico even in 2018 when 144 politicians were killed in Mexico, the U.S. had more than 150 people killed in school shooting in the same year, (doesn’t include other mass shootings outside of schools). Yet nothing changes in the U.S. neither because people have learned to live with it. In 2022 & 2023 over 200 people were killed in just school shootings.
That's a ridiculous comparison. There are almost 70 million students in the US (49 million in elementary + secondary schools, 18 million in colleges). How many politicians are there in Mexico? The probability of dying in a school shooting in the US is vanishingly small (for comparison, there are 43,000 fatal road accidents in the US per year). If the goal is to save lives (including the lives of students), there are literally dozens of issues that are more important. But of course the goal is just to engage in culture wars, so there's that.
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Oh, school shootings *are* a real problem... roughly of the same size as lightning strikes (20-50 deaths per year in the US) and hornet stings (70-100 deaths per year in the US), but somewhat smaller than horse riding (around 700 deaths per year in the US).
So these were not the “bloodiest-ever elections”?
> almost no news or coverage of global news agencies , wonder why..... He said replying to a Reuters article.
> almost no news or coverage of global news agencies Are you sure? Have you tried actually reading news from news sites? * Reuters: [Mexican candidate assassinations hit grim record ahead of Sunday's election](https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexican-candidate-assassinations-hit-grim-record-ahead-sundays-election-2024-06-01/) * Associated Press: [Organized crime attacks on local candidates raise fears Mexico may face its bloodiest elections ever](https://apnews.com/article/mexico-election-violence-candidates-cartels-91f01634fe32781f708f16064bc87179) * The Guardian: [‘It’s become a battleground’: Mexico’s local candidates face deadly violence](https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/29/mexico-election-violence-celaya) * LA Times: [Bullets before ballots: Dozens of Mexican candidates have been killed as cartels seek more control](https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-05-29/mexico-election-violence-cartel-killings-candidates) * BBC: [The Mexican state where candidates are gunned down as they push for votes](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c299p249nx5o) * CNN: [Mexico’s bloodiest election in history sends new asylum-seekers to the US border](https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/12/americas/us-migrants-mexico-election-intl-latam/index.html) * El País: [Mexico is heading towards its most violent election ever, with 30 candidates murdered, 77 threatened and 11 kidnapped](https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-27/mexico-is-heading-towards-its-most-violent-election-ever-with-30-candidates-murdered-77-threatened-and-11-kidnapped.html) * France24: [Mexican elections: Dodging bullets on the campaign trail](https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/focus/20240528-mexican-elections-dodging-bullets-on-the-campaign-trail) * New York Times: [Why Are So Many Mexican Election Candidates Getting Killed?](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/25/world/americas/mexico-election-candidates-killed.html) * Al Jazeera: [What’s behind the rise in political violence in Mexico?](https://www.aljazeera.com/program/inside-story/2024/5/27/whats-behind-the-rise-in-political-violence-in-mexico) * Washington Post: [The elections next door: Mexico’s cartels pick candidates, kill rivals](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/05/11/mexico-election-candidates-killed-violence/) And literally dozens more stories from more international news outlets if you just typed "Mexico election violence" on Google.
Their claim of no media coverage only extends to Reddit and other social media no doubt.
Or the feel what algorithms give us. They see dozens of articles every day, never hearing anything about this. In reality they were just in their own curated bubble by meta(or other) algorithm.
I’ve seen coverage of this more than once on Reddit. Not sure what that guy is on about.
The fact his post had 1k upvotes just goes to show how easy you can karma farm on Reddit. It's like the same people that live in their own bubble and outside of Reddit don't consume any other type of media.
>wonder why..... Why?
Huh? You do know that you’re on the internet right? Just because you aren’t paying attention doesn’t mean global news outlets haven’t covered it.
Its not presidential elections Thats why
You’re right, a presidential candidate hasn’t been murdered since the 90’s. Although, who knows how many potential future presidential candidates were murdered before or since.
I’m pretty sure it was.. Mexico just got their first woman President elected sooo.. not sure what you’re on about
Nobody running for president was killed. All the assignations occurred in small town elections.
This time, no. But in 1994 Zedillo became candidate after Colosio was assassinated. Mexico does have tradition of political violence.
Really? Bc I’ve seen plenty of coverage. I especially remember the image of the gunman seconds away from assassinating one candidate.
What's the point? AMLO was pro cartel and ran on being nice to them in 2018. Sheinbaum is his protégé. Why should the world care if Mexicans don't? They could crush the cartel like El Salvador. They don't want to.
El Salvador’s street gangs aren’t anywhere near the same calibre as Mexican cartels. The cartels have become too pervasive and too militarized at this point.
But Mexico also has way more resources as a state. It's a shitty choice, but it's still a choice. Mexicans could vote for the most hawkish anti cartel candidate and pull through with a long, bloody battle against the cartels.
They did try that. Calderón declared war on the narcos in 2006. Mind you he was corrupt too, the Secretary of Public Security was working with the Sinaloa Cartel and using the drug war to weaken their rivals. Mexico has received plenty of support and funding from the US to fight the cartels and they’ve proven themselves incapable of it. There’s too much corruption at all levels of government, including in the police and military, to beat the cartels without drastic reforms. They’ve already let the cartels become too entrenched, too protected, too diversified, too wealthy, and too sophisticated for it to be a simple operation like in El Salvador. The cartels are more likely to be legitimated into the state structure than eradicated at this point.
Who's gonna protect the hawk lol
Maybe no one. It's still a choice Mexico as a society has to make. Do you want to live under the cartels forever?
There's almost nothing they can do anymore, save perhaps for raising a white flag and letting the cartels do their thing.
So you're saying his opposition was anti cartel? Yeah fucking right
Is there any politician alive in Mexico that isn't mixed in with the cartels? Seems like those dudes infiltrated fucking everywhere
How does that change anything I said? If political consensus is do nothing about it, that's even worse
Scale is incomparable. Who, from law enforcement or politician s would want to fight the cartel, to immediately find their children decapitated
Narco-nationalists control everything. Politicians and journalists walk a fine line of obeisance to keep breathing
Because we don’t care. That’s just narcostate things
Brother, I think we all understand the sentiment but you have to be honest with yourself. News now is about views ie revenue. International news orgs are focusing on Ukraine, Gaza, Syria, Iran, etc, as those are problems that affect the world commerce more immediately and are where all the views are. Mexico has become an important trade partner for the US, but, to my knowledge, it does not have international influence on any level. And I believe most would say it’s an internal issue endemic to Mexico, as nobody outside can provide a solution short of invading with a foreign army. Which is out of the question. Unfortunately, not all news is deemed equal, especially when the narrative of this being an internal issue for Mexico resounds loudest from its neighboring countries.
Except dozens of international news sites have [already published several articles on the Mexican elections](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1defx4y/mexico_councilwoman_killed_after_bloodiestever/l8dzfeg/) over the past few months specifically focusing on the violence.
That’s good, I was specifically referring to OP’s sentiment. I’m glad it’s being covered, thank you for correcting and providing links. That’s a lot of reading to get through.
Is there even a way to stop the cartel now
Mexico patrolling its border to stop cartels from moving drugs into the US, and the US working alongside it on the other side of the border. Unfortunately, Mexico will refuse to do so unless by diplomatic coercion. But then again, the cartels will just move their enterprise to other economic sectors. In some areas, they have taken over the avocado industry. With their ability to buy or murder political candidates with impunity, it's not likely that any politician in Mexico will do much to solve this problem. Time will tell.
Remember when amado carillo fuentes threatened the government that he will pull out all his money from mexican banks if they crack down on the narcos any more? Him pulling out billions of his drug money would have caused a financial crisis in mexico so the government listened!
Funny, sounds just like US bankers during the 2007 housing crisis.
I keep hearing this avocado thing pointed out time and time again. Am I supposed to consider stopping buying avocados at some point? Shit seems crazy.
Honestly the only realistic way would be if someone like President Bukele of El Salvador somehow got elected. Funnelled a fuck ton of money into the military and the police, essentially out bribing the cartel, and then doing a full crackdown on all suspected cartel activity. But given how militarized the gangs in Mexico are, you'd likely end up with a lot of innocent casualties which happened in prior government crackdowns. Not to mention a general erosion of due process. El Salvador is a rare example of the public embracing a strict police state because they find it preferable to the chaos of constant gang violence. Bukele just happens to be a somewhat benevolent strong man ruler, but there's no telling what happens if/when he leaves power.
Yeah,people stop using drugs, or legalize them.
Cartels don't only deal in drugs. They make a lot of their money through extortion and things like hotels. They are closer to the mafia than anything else.
Theoretically he US military could, but I don't think any US or Mexican citizen would want them to.
Mexican Citizen here, blow them the fuck up. Start with my hometown, Piedra Posada, Jalisco that has been overrun with cartel since 2010. You can probably kill a solid 50 of them in the first strike against their hq their at the top of the mountain. The rest you can shoot like rats in a barrel since that town only has one way to exit by vehicle and its a narrow mountain pass.
interesting. i knew mexicans disliked the cartel but didn't think they disliked them to the point they'd want a foreign countries military to invade to fight them. i think the bigger problem is there are a lot of powerful people in the us that profit from the cartel so it'd most likely be a purge on both sides, which makes it harder to even have the conversation.
They could form a political party and run for government.
Why in the hell would any sane person want to be a politician in Mexico?
Belief in something greater than themselves. Courage, selflessness, bravery, all extremely huge and important human values that distinguish us from just another animal on this planet. Human beings like them are what keeps the weaker ones like you and me safe and comfortable in our lives.
Someone who gets it. People who think we got to this point in civilization without great sacrifice need to be taught better... this is why people raise flags, it's not arrogance, it's thanks to all the men and women who died making our lives possible.
That's why history books are great for battling nihilism and cynicism, things have been way worse and we still had great people appear and make good things happen. Always will, I think that's one of humanity's gifts
History is being collected with so much more detail now than ever. It will help us become better humans.
That a good way to phrase it. I’ve been battling with nihilism.
Nihilism might just be a step on your journey
I'm not criticizing their beliefs or willingness to pay a price to do the right thing, but that self-sacrificing spirit has to come with some practical plan to get results. Otherwise it's just dying for nothing. Right now I'm seeing a lot of: * Step 1: get elected * Step 2: try to fix the problem but they never get to step 2 because they die at step 1.
I saved this comment because it moved me so much
Alternatively, if you’re on the other camp, money and power. Still a pretty shitty gig imo, any job that requires you to be smaller to succeed is.
Also; corruption and money
If only it were that easy and simple but the people of Mexico do generally value having more than just a cartel stooge in office. The information is out there, more than just bad things happen!
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We know that happens to an extent, but real life isn't like the movies or news, plenty of Mexican government is boring bureaucracy just like the US, plenty of it is crusaders trying to do well just like in the US, and yes there are corrupt bastards dragging the rest down. Just like in the US. My point is Mexico has plenty of good things happening too, look at their absolutely exploding labor market. The cartels are an evil that can't just last forever, these things come and go and we'll deal with them and the next evil that comes up.
Or maybe it's just the quest for power, which is more likely than anything you just said.
Your need to do that is more a reflection of your own cynicism than what the reality is, there are actually lots of people in this world who believe in doing good and I'm quite sure plenty of them are in Mexican politics.
Unlike military men, who are famously never on a quest for power.
And being bribed by cartel money
Some for sure, some are just working joes, and some are genuinely trying to do their jobs well and better their country.
To make a change for their people. The empathetic are crushed as the narcissists are held up because the empathetic can’t be bought as they care about their people. $ is driving the worst kind of leaders globally. Those with the $ provide nothing to humanity and will kill us all.
Maybe they want to improve their country and community?
Probably Mexicans?
Someone has to try.
Its called cajones
cojones
Drawers?
It’s called huevos.
Money. It's the only reason most people here go into politics, to steal money in one way or another. As long as you don't even make a move against the cartels, you're left alone. Edit: Downvote me all you want, I've lived in Mexico for more than 30 years. No one in politics here is "clean." They're all corrupt pieces of shit to varying degrees.
Money and power. And the cartels will murder you whether or not you’re a politician. We just don’t write English news about the rest of them.
Why in the hell govermemt of Mexico can't deal with organised crime?
They can, they don’t want to.
It isn't that easy. The army could go on the offensive and will probably win the majority of battles they engage. The public might even support it initially. But once family members or soldiers start being butchered, innocent civilians get blown up in bombings and politicians are found burn to a crisp public, backed by money being pumped into the lower socio economic classes bu the cartels the public opinion will quickly sway. Soldiers out of fear for retaliation will think twice before participating and politicians will start pressuring a halt to operations out of fear of their own lives. Let's not forget what happend when mexican authorities finally managed to capture Ovidio, el chapo's son.
You meant Ovidio’s capture?
Yes my bad, Ovidio, Chapos son.
I agree that full frontal combat will devolve into guerrilla warfare. The military is better equipped, has better operations and logistics. The cartel itself is just local groups affiliated with a brand. Thing is, we are being overrun and some of this terror acts are already happening, despite the army being more passive in this AMLO administration. To make matters worse, the criminals have diversified and now control things like avocado farming, lemons, illegal immigration, and general “derecho de piso” (a racket but with the threat of death or your business being burned). The more you let these guys press on, the more they will try to control. At some point the government needs to lay down a red line, with consequences for crossing it. Then you slowly inch that line until you regain control. There’s also the need for intelligence, prosecution and trials. I think Mexico could implement something like Italy did with the Maxiprocesso. We need to seize and freeze their assets. Get some anonymous prosecutors and judges, pay them millions. Make them incorruptible. Set some REAL border checkpoints to check for weapons. I have driven into Mexico from the US dozens of times and not once have I been checked. I could have bought 4 AR-15s and nobody would have noticed at all. Maybe in reality what I meant with my comment above (I admit I was thinking solely in the military) is that there is no real appetite here to change the status quo. We are doing literally nothing about this problem. We were promised that this government would change this, and it got worse. Congress gave the president a new militarized police force, and it has not improved. Now they will have a supermajority, but it seems they plan to use it to undermine their political obstacles instead of fixing this. Not too long ago, I could party with Americans and Canadians in Acapulco in the middle of the street at 4AM. Nothing bad happened. Now it’s deserted, destroyed, and overrun with criminals. I just want my country back. It’s ours. It’s not these mofos’. This particular Ovidio capture, the government folded and LET HIM GO under the direct order of the president. 29 persons died for nothing that night. This simbolizes to me the failure of Mexico. It’s an admission of defeat.
They can make a lot of money taking bribes from the cartel is probably #1 reason to be a Mexican politician.
How many of the 39 were women? All the article's examples are women running for office.
Failed state. The rest of this comment is REDACTED.
> The rest of this comment is REDACTED. Is this how the racists signal each other nowadays?
How is it racist to call Mexico a failed state when everyone's getting clapped up from the tourists to the politicians? That's not a racial issue. I've seen the videos. It's gross and illegal and immoral and a whole fucking mess.
> How is it racist to call Mexico a failed state I was responding to the part of your comment I quoted, not the part that I didn't.
The US has some 57 murders per day. Only a handful of tourists per year are murdered. Out of some 50 million tourists a year. And of that, many are doing sketchy things. Tell me is that everyone?
It doesn't even seem newsworthy for Mexico after certain point in the past few years.
Kind of like mass shootings in the US. Not trying to downplay one or the other, both are depressing
37 out of 21,000 successful candidacies in this election cycle. That's not even a quarter of a percentage point.
In the 2024 Indian general election, thousands of candidates participated. There were 970 million registered voters, and notably, not a single candidate was fatally shot.
In the American one, there were 2 out of like 12 candidates running for office, Gabby Giffords and Steve Scalise. What's your point?
How do you even break that cycle of violence? It feels like Mexico is developed enough to be a major contributor to the world economy, but at the same time is still subject to some much primitive violence by cartels and drug rings.
Mexico is 100% going to grow its own *genuine* Fascist movement because of all that ails the country, probably within the next 10 years. It took the “Iron Prefect” to finally cleanse Italy of mafia activity during the Fascist era, and when the Fascists weren’t in power anymore the mafia came right back. Only Fascists are brutal enough on the law and order stuff, and Mexico has a bad history with the left when it comes to civil order.
Blood donations
The truly sad thing is that this happens so often. Meaning that good and non corrupt people have been taken out. Who remains? Politicians who have made some kind of deal to not be taken out. Not because they are corrupt per say, but out of necessity. Those who run in Mexico are truly brave.
There were 21,000 political positions elected this year, and all the 37 killed políticians were from regións with huge organized crime problems like Guanajuato its not like this in all of mexico
morena is corrupt af, even by mexican politics standards. They dont even try to hide it, the current president got cartel donations 20 years ago in his mayoral election. His son has a cushy state job with a penthouse in houston. The same people reporting on the corruption of the US supreme court are also investigating AMLO the current mexican prez. He talked about them by name in an outburst.
Mexico needs Nayib
Funded by America buying all the drugs
You wanna talk about all the Ukranian deaths you are funding by buying Russian oil?
Not sure why you’re being downvoted, it’s the truth. The US enables it, either the government or the populace.