Democracy, violence and drug trafficking in Mexico. Challenges 2015

Abstract

The main hypothesis of this paper argues that drug trafficking and organized crime are the main obstacles to the process of transition to democracy in Mexico. The phenomenon of violence in Mexico is analyzed in the historical context, taking into account the transition to democracy, the globalization as well as the emergence of transnational organized crime. Since the nineties of the twentieth century, the violence related to criminal activities approaches the US-Mexico border, making Baja California, Chihuahua and Tamaulipas the most violent states. There is a war between the government forces and various criminal groups that are fighting for control over territory. President Felipe Calderon (2006–2012) adopted a strategy of “war” backed by the United States through the Mérida Initiative, which involved the militarization of the security policy of the Mexican government. The article discusses also the first three years of the government of Enrique Peña Nieto (December 2012–October 2015) and the main places of conflict in Michoacan, Guerrero and Tamaulipas. This government has faced a human rights crisis since September 2014, due to the murder and disappearance of 43 students in Iguala. We conclude that democracy is affected by the war on drugs, but legacies of the authoritarian political regime that dominated for most of the twentieth century, such as impunity, corruption and human rights violation must be taken into consideration as well.