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Felipe Calderon's Frustrations
By Chris Covert

In the immediate aftermath of the attack on the Casino Royale in Monterrey, Nuevo leon, I happened to read the comments in one of the news articles, Proceso, I think. Reading comments, especially after such as calamity as this massive and vicious attack gives me a sense of what the average Mexican is thinking and feeling about a news event, or about Mexico in general; A slice of opinion in a sliver of time, as it were.

The opinions expressed were not good; in fact since I started helping at Rantburg with Mexican news, I had never seen comments so angered; anger at President Felipe Calderon, anger at the Chamber of Deputies, and anger at local officials and officials in general. One comment, however, more or less reflected a sense of frustration that was specifically not expressed, when the commenter retailed that Monterrey city officials made certain the fact was known that the casino was operating without a state license.

Paraphrasing from memory:

"The problem was operating was without a state license? And here I was thinking the problem was with the assassins!"

The comments were mostly directed against the national government. Blaming Felipe Calderon for the violence that has enveloped the country is understandable, since Calderon is charged with protecting Mexican society from threats internal and external, so at some level it makes sense to blame him and other officials. Calderon's four year long war against the cartels has produced little in tangible results, such as a decrease in shootings. An entire at peace movement led by a Mexican leftist, Javier Sicilia, is growing based on the very notion that organized crime murders are the fault of the president.

But lost in all the anger and frustration is the fact that the great majority of the violence is committed by Mexican organized crime, in the normal course of business in Mexico. There is little Calderon can do about decisions to kill made routinely in criminal enterprises throughout Mexico. All he can do is to attempt to stop the flow of illegal drugs to the US and illegal guns to Mexico using the Mexican military.

In many ways the view that Calderon and his efforts are to blame for this latest outrage seem to be schizophrenic. Were a normal individual, be they Mexican, American, or any other nationality to witness a murder and its aftermath, the last persons they would perceive to be responsible for the bloodshed would be the police who responded, or aid agencies who give first aid and provide transport for the survivors.

So why pounce on the boss as the cause rather than for his failings?

Understandably a frustrated Felipe Calderon who has been a lightening rod for his efforts to combat crime, made a decision to blame the United States for Mexico's own troubles, which on the surface makes sense.

Calderon mentioned the two nation's shared friendship and interests over the years, and to some extent that it true. Investments and jobs go to Mexico, which produce goods for sale in the US and elsewhere. It's supposed to be good for us as well as for Mexican citizens. Those investors take advantage of the most open border in the history of the planet. American get cheap goods. Seems like a fair trade.

But for two nations who are allegedly friends, both sides are committing acts that in many other nations would be considered acts of war.

For example, the 2,500 plus weapons purchased with the official blessing of American law enforcement were placed in the hands of cartel thugs who had apparently racheted up gun violence to a high degree, who used them on other Mexicans. Yet, as bad as that was, placing those very guns in the hands of the very individuals in Mexico who could do the most good with them in protecting their own families from the cartels would have been an even more egregious act of war in the minds of officials on both sides of the border; yet that is what Calderon seeks to do with US legislators by calling to disarm private American citizens.

They send Americans illegal drugs and illiterate help in the form of illegal immigrants, and we send them tourists, investment money and illegal guns.

The relationship is codependant, and therefore destructive, and while some advantages exist to the current arrangement, and while neither side benefits, neither side is prepared to admit it.

So perhaps Calderon has it right. Our drug appetite and illegally smuggled weapons fuelled this mass murder. But it is then fair to say Mexico has its hands bloodied in this as well for failing to close the borders, and for failing to arms its citizens.
Posted by: badanov 2011-08-29
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=328801