Mexico’s Public Safety Secretary Eduardo Medina seeks to convey the impression that Mexican law enforcement officials have curtailed lawlessness that had previously existed on the US-Mexico border . Statistically, such assertions appear valid, as homicide rates have decreased since President Vicente Fox took office in 2000. However, raw statistics fail to incorporate anarchy and escalating criminality that exists along the border. Bold and gruesome attacks between rival drug gangs that often result in the deaths of innocent bystanders and/or Mexican police officers bolster this contention. Additionally, Mexican citizens are well aware of the corruption and complicity that pervades the Mexican police forces , depriving citizens of law and order in Mexico.
Fox’s administration has valiantly attempted to reform the unprofessional and criminal security forces of Nuevo Laredo, a task that is far from complete. Rival drug gangs seeking control of the city’s lucrative drug smuggling routes into the US overwhelmed the small percentage of dedicated, uncorrupted police officers in the city . Fox was forced to dismiss nearly half of the 700 Nuevo Laredo police officers, the majority of whom had contracted out their police services to the highest bidding cartel. Mexican soldiers entered the city to restore a semblance of law and order but likewise were not above reproach. Consequently, the Mexican border economy has suffered greatly, as US investors, fearful of constructing maquiladoras, have shifted production capabilities to China and India , depriving the Mexican government of much needed capital and tax revenue.
As the Mexican presidential polling indicates, the race is currently between Felipe Calderon (see photo above) and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (see photo below). Currently, neither has devoted much time to discussing the deteriorating security situation. As Mayor of Mexico City, Obrador hired former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to institute a similar security structure as that which worked so well in New York City (2005 Regional Forecast). The exact results of the program remain unknown. Calderon will likely continue the policies of Fox’s PAN administration, although Calderon has not expressed his firm commitment to Fox’s policies.
Whichever candidate is ultimately victorious on July 2, he will face an uphill battle restructuring the Mexican security forces while simultaneously eliminating the destructive power of the drug cartels . As stated previously by TRC, a professional and formidable security apparatus is imperative if the Mexican government hopes to decrease the business expansion activities of the various cartels operating along the US-Mexico border .
