This article from The New York Times describes the economy of mexico and how it benefits from the drug trade. Several Mexican pharmaceutical companies have been accused of laundering money to drug cartels, such as the titular one that was accused of supplying chemicals to make meth amphetamines. Mexico made more money in 2009 from drug exports than from oil exports, which is its single largest export. All over the country, luxury boutiques, high end real estate and even hospitals are being bought with drug money.
This article pertains to concepts we've been studying in many ways. An economy that is fueled by an illegal industry is a sign of corruption. If police officers were to turn a blind eye to drug trades in Mexico because of money from cartels, then the government would be less legitimate.
In a recent New York Times article, Mexico City Mayor Vows to Defend Gay Marriage Law, the validity and enforcement of a same sex marriage law is addressed. Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard (this name should sound familiar, he was one of the presidential hopefuls mentioned in my previous blog post) says "he will defend the capital's gay-marriage law and insists the ordinance will take effect in March".
Mexican federal prosecutors feel differently however--the federal Attorney General's Office has filed an appeal, bringing the legitimacy of the law to the scrutiny of the Supreme Court. The prosecutors argue that the law "violates constitutional provisions on the family and the protection of children".
This controversial law is valid of mention in our Comparative Government class in many ways. Firstly, Mexico's heavy Catholic influence and typical Conservative view towards gay-marriage is in contrast to this new progressive law that is the first of its kind for all of Latin America. It is surprising that this law was enacted amidst a civic culture that does not typically advocate same sex marriage. However, equally pertinent, the article addresses an appeal to the Supreme Court to judge upon the constitutionality of a law--sounds an awful lot like judicial review. As well, the Judicial courts of Mexico are fairly insulated from the Executive, so the law will not be negated because of federal opposition coupled with a federal control of the Judiciary. When looking at the standpoint of the Judicial System of Mexico, Mexico is looking very much like a liberal democracy.
Gun attack at Mexico student party leaves 13 dead This article from BBC News talks about a shooting at a high school party in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The attack is assumed to be drug related because Ciudad Juarez is next to a main drug smuggling route into the United States; though there is no immediate connection between the party and the drug cartels. According to witnesses, four SUVs drove up to the house and about fifteen people with guns stormed the party shooting mercilessly into the crowd of kids. The dead are between 15 and 20 years old. Eleven children died and two adults died, many more were injured. The government has sent 45,000 troops and extra police to fight the violence that has fumed all across the country. The murders and attacks have become daily occurrences in many regions of Mexico, and though the troops and officials have lessened some of the violence, there are still large amounts of attacks and killings that make life, economic and political stability hard to hold onto in Mexico. For Comparative Government, these attacks and murders are important to look at in discussing Sovereignty, Authority and Power in Mexico and in looking at Citizens Society and the State. The shooting at this high school party in Ciudad Juarez, and all of the shootings and violence that have occurred, have effected the quality of life in Mexico, and the feeling of security among it's citizens. This hurts the civil society because it makes people feel unsafe and less like a community. It also effects the legitimacy of the government, because it's people do not feel like the government is acting effectively to protect them, and in many cases citizens know of or believe there to be corruption in the police and in the government. This war on drugs is very important to look at in Comparative Government for all of these social and political reasons.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
This article from the BBC describes drug cartel violence in Mexico. In a prison in Durango, a brawl broke out between inmates that were members of rival drug cartels, killing 23. The state of Durango has been the site of numerous drug related violence between two rival cartels. Mexican president Felipe Calderon has declared war on the drug cartels violence in Northern Mexico and has dispatched 40,000 troops.
This event demonstrates concepts in citizens, society, and the state. The government took measures using the military to control citizens. Rival drug cartels created excessive violence that affected innumerable others, so in a way civilians were creating their own war.
Mexican president incumbent, Felipe Calderon, has been plagued by a brutal drug war since he took office in 2006 and no one from his conservative National Action Party appeals as a strong successor for the looming 2012 elections. However, Pena Nieto of the Industrial Revolutionary Party and Ebrard, of the Democratic Revolution Party, stand as ambitious presidential hopefuls.
Both of these hailed playboys rely on eccentric and flamboyant attempts to gain media attention (like appearing on TV with soap opera stars) but this seems to be the only commonality that these politicians share. Left wing Ebrard is sympathetic to unions, a defender of abortion rights, and champions higher taxes for welfare reform; while Right sided Nieto in contrast has sent police forces to bust up union protests, has supported abortion bans, and believes infrastructure is the key to social welfare reform. These juxtaposing politicians, if elected, seem to have ambitious plans for Mexico.
This article is pertinent to the concepts of Comparative Government as it shows Mexico slowly casting aside its stigma as an illiberal democracy. Ruled for 71 years by the single party policies of the IRP, Mexico now looks like a more solidified democracy as it allows the people more than a single party to be fairly voted into office. As well, this article shows how the media puts more emphasis on what sells the papers versus important political information--this NY Times article spent as much time addressing the presidential hopefuls' policies as it did their controversial private life and love affairs.
The next Antonio Banderas? Nope, this is the suave presidential hopeful Pena Nieto (Photo courtesy of Flickr.com)
A Different Type of Recession is an article from the Economist, it talks about how the global recession has affected Mexico and what this will mean for Mexico’s future.
Mexico's market economy is still heavily under development. Mexico has both a developing industrial market in the north, and a largely agricultural economy in the south. Globalization has helped Mexico industrialize and grow. NAFTA, the North American free trade agreement, shows how globalization has connected Mexico economically with the United States. This recent recession is taking longer for Mexico to overcome than the crash Mexico saw in 1995. This time the United States can’t help bail Mexico out and Mexico’s industries are suffering. Mexico City and other major cities in Mexico have not been affected as badly as the smaller manufacturing and industrial cities have. Because the United States' consumption of goods from northern Mexico's industrial plants has slowed down so much, the manufacturing cities and labor jobs have been hit hard. NAFTA has made Mexico dependent on the United States, the manufacturing plants and investments by the U.S. has become a crutch for Mexico that has suddenly become too short.
But the daily life of businesses and people in the hustle and bustle of major cities has been relatively unaffected because of the lack of inflation. Government subsidies also saved many workers from becoming unemployed and some people are able to dip into their retirement funds and savings accounts. Of course this does not mean that everyone living and working in the major cities have not seen tragedy. The poorer sections of major cities have seen much poverty, families have to sell property and farm animals to pay for food to eat.
The agricultural economy in Southern Mexico, the poorest part of the country has not seen much change during this recession. The farmers are still able to farm, and didn’t have too many economic ties with the industrial cities who are crashing the most. Thankfully, the regular agricultural exports are still running as usual.
Swine Flu also affected the economy, making the crash that much harder to bear. The lack of tourists to pump money into the coastal cities, and the shut down of Mexico City for a week weakened the economy enough for the global recession to hurt that much more. Mexico’s oil industry is buckling under as well. The government used to not have to tax heavily because of the inflow of money from oil profits, but now, higher taxes are going to have to be placed on the already stressed incomes of Mexicans.
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