Mexico in depth
Post categories: World Tonight
| 10:37 UK time, Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Mexico could be on the verge of being a failed state. That's the view of some observers, including a former US drugs tsar General Barry McCaffrey - who cite the increasingly violent battle between powerful drug cartels and the government which has deployed the army to fight them.
Last year alone, 6,000 people were killed in violence linked to the drugs gangs and the killing shows no sign of abating.
The country is beginning to resemble Colombia in the recent past, not a comparison the Mexican government would like but one many analysts and journalists are starting to make.
This week, The World Tonight's Robin Lustig is in Mexico to look in depth at the threat facing the country. You can follow his trip on Robin's World Tonight blog and hear his reports on Thursday and Friday on the programme.
Mexico is one the world's biggest countries with a population of 110 million and the 13th largest economy. It's also strategically located on the southern border of the United States. So what happens there is significant for the rest of the world.
Yet apart from occasional reports when there is a particularly large number of deaths in the "war on drugs" and when the country was the first to be badly hit by swine flu, the country gets relatively little coverage in the British media.
Listeners to The World Tonight and readers of my entries on this blog will know that one of the things we try to do on the programme is to cover significant global issues that are often not given much daily news coverage elsewhere.
It's for this reason we have followed the worsening situation in Somalia relatively closely as well as the unresolved conflicts in the western Balkans.
In Mexico, we'll be looking in depth at the underlying economic crisis which makes it more difficult to deal with the drugs cartels.
The violence was already deterring business; but the recession in the US has caused a big drop in the money sent home to support their families by Mexicans north of the border; and the swine flu outbreak which may have killed up to 60 people has dealt a heavy blow to the country's large tourist industry.
We'll also ask whether the militarisation of the "war on drugs", the use of the army to deal with a law and order problem in a country with an authoritarian past, is an effective policy or risks making the violence worse.
Alistair Burnett is the editor of The World Tonight.
Comment number 1.
At 30th Jun 2009, sweetsmellofsuccess wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 1)
Comment number 2.
At 30th Jun 2009, sweetsmellofsuccess wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 2)
Comment number 3.
At 30th Jun 2009, Steve wrote:Poverty leads to crime and NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) has been a leading cause of poverty. For example, opening up trade restrictions has led to Mexico being flooded with highly subsidized US agribusiness exports. This has driven the poor off the farms and has sent shockwaves across the economy and the people.
NAFTA also resulted in a huge increase in the number of trucks going back and forth between Mexico and the US. Only a small fraction of the trucks can really be checked so its the perfect way to smuggle the drugs.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 3)
Comment number 4.
At 30th Jun 2009, krishnamurthi ramachandran wrote:Dear Mr.Alistair Burnett,
Your coverages of Mexico in depth are very informative,and much useful for depth study for Mexico History,Economics,Trade and Her peoples day today life.
Since, so many years many social,economic crimes such as drug,agricultural commodities,human trafficking are day today life.
Surely nexus with ruling groups.lack of proper border checkups by neigbouring countries ,all social ,economic crimes are happening.
Many shootings were happened.bar cultural fights are also common.
Many Mexicans are sufferings due to agricultural products price slump,not much leverages from authorities.
Many trucks were not checked by border authorities.
Education,urban,youths easy attitudes on drug ,liquor habits also cotributed their social upheaval halts.
Pverty,some areas in Mexico,especially in Mexico city,over population created stagnation,poor higine,poor medical care added their sufferies.
Our forthcoming correspondent,Mr.Robing Lustig!s visit to Mexico will bring more real pictures to ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ and to rest of this world.
Really, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ is doing very good services to entire world by correct,precise ,what to do next,how it can be done for better governance,better spending,uplift of the large sections of the people for main stream of life.
Please continue of these good works by ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ management team,editors,news reporters and other well wishers of this world.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 4)
Comment number 5.
At 1st Jul 2009, sweetsmellofsuccess wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 5)
Comment number 6.
At 1st Jul 2009, sweetsmellofsuccess wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 6)
Comment number 7.
At 2nd Jul 2009, jon112uk wrote:Just looking at the media/news angle, I'd love to see more coverage of conflicts like this.
If people access alternative news sources it's amazing to see how many major conflicts are going on around the world. However, all the reporting is from one or two (Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel/'Palestine' at the current time)
Bit broader coverage? ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ does have the resources to do this.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 7)
Comment number 8.
At 2nd Jul 2009, FedupwithLiberals wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 8)
Comment number 9.
At 7th Jul 2009, sweetsmellofsuccess wrote:This is a splendid idea. It is the proper use of resources to send a team out from London, and not to use the North America correspondent. Mr Webb should be forced to stay in Washington DC and report on every aspect of the Obama presidency, instead of indulging his habit of wandering the continent reporting on Canada and Mexico in such detail. Perhaps some kind of bonus should be in order for those who made the decision?
I would willingly sell my house and all its contents to help the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 9)
Comment number 10.
At 8th Jul 2009, sweetsmellofsuccess wrote:Apparently you don't like legitimate criticism, but you don't notice sarcasm...
Complain about this comment (Comment number 10)
Comment number 11.
At 11th Jul 2009, Christien wrote:I am about to go to Mexico for an all-inclusive trip to Cancun. I know most of the drug cartels are further north and around Mexico City, but it does make me nervous. The photos I have seen on the internet of victims of the drug gains are some of the most violent killings I have ever seen. If it wasn't free then I probably won't go.
[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]Christian
Complain about this comment (Comment number 11)