Mexico

[padraig (u.s.)]

So in 1998 my uncle spent two weeks in a village called La Soledad (Chiapas) as a neutral observer attached to the Fray Bartolome Centre for Human Rights based in San Cristobal de las Casas.

He says:

La Soledad is a divided village of betweeen 70-90 households: and the divisions are extremely complex - never following a straight line. Members of the same families are in different groups (PRIistas; Independentes; PT's -the Workers Party allied to the PRI; and of course Zapatistas; all in roughly equal numbers); the houses are clustered and scattered rather than segregated; some "public" areas are "neutral" and some "belong" to particular groups; some activities are shared, like church and some fiestas; others are particular, like schooling and other fiestas; people shop in their "own" stores for preference, but will purchase from whoever has the goods they need. Information given in good faith is not always consistent. In spite of all these cross-linkages, we sensed that people had stereotyped views of people in other groups.

Our role as observers was almost as complex, not least because we could never hope to comprehend the dynamics of the whole village. We were neutral, but present at the invitation of only one party (Zapatista); and concerned for the human rights of everyone.​

that's more or less how it was at the divided village I went to - we didn't wind up actually doing any work (at least well I was there - they may have gone back at some point after I left). it was kind of an iffy situation - we'd been invited by the Zapatistas obv so the PRIistas were suspicious but willing to at least come to the meeting with us & the Zs since we were talking about installing a water system for the whole village, not just the Zapatista parts (which would have been impractical anyway since, as with your uncle's experience the different factions were pretty well mingled). our role wasn't quite as complex - we were clearly & openly pro-EZLN - tho I should say that had/have a lot more sympathy for campesinos who get duped/coerced/bribed into supporting the PRI than I do for the PRI itself.

also there are many villages which are 100% EZLN or 100% PRI. besides being forced to leave some people have left of their own accord. there's also a ring of new slums - log cabins/no water/no electric - around the outskirts of San Cristobal where desplazados live, presumably from both sides tho I have no idea.

one thing about human rights - the EZLN track record again may not be perfect but I can say with confidence that it's much, much cleaner than the govt's.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

very interesting thanks man - i guess this just highlights the complexities of a) social relations in general; and b) being an "outsider" trying to interpret such relations.

also I was only there, counting both times, for about 4 months altogether. I'm sure I would have gotten a better grip on some if not all of this stuff if'd I been there longer. then again I knew activists, Mexican & foreign, who'd been there for years who were still bewildered by some things. the attitude of the guys I was working for was pretty much "we're there to do the water, let's focus on the water". plus we didn't have much social contact with the people outside of the work - some of the young unmarried guys would come by & hang out with us at night (& drink Cokes). I only actually talked to one woman at any length - it was in Diez de Abril, one of the biggest villages & the first one to receive international visitors way back in I think '95, where they were well used to us & also she'd been to the States and even I think gone to college (which was like unheard for men, let alone women) - anyway she & her husband were unusually "cosmopolitan" you might say & we went to their house for dinner a couple of times.

actually a lot of ppl didn't even speak Spanish - mostly the older ones/women tho it depened on how big the villages was & how far it was from a sizeable mestizo town. education, or the lack of it, is actually a massive problem there.

 

[polystyle]

Drug lord makes Forbes Top list

Shorty's millions' -come from 'shipping'
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/world/americas/12briefs-DRUGLORDONWE_BRF.html?_r=1&ref=world

 

[josef k.]

It reminds me of what the guy in Requiem for a Dream says when his mother asks him where he is getting his money. "I'm, uh, a distributor for a large importer."

Also here: http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/03/12/mexican_drug_lord_makes_forbes_billionaires_list

And a photo essay: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4749

At least some local businessmen are still bearing up against the brunt of the financial crisis.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

Shorty's millions' -come from 'shipping'

well it's certainly kind of blackly humorous, esp. in a zeitgeist-y kind of way - as every story on this points out the last narco to make the Forbes list was Escobar, the don dadda of celeb druglords, who was (in)famously like 7th or 8th back in 1989. altho I dunno if it's even humor really - Forbes is the "the capitalist tool" after all & guys like Escobar & El Chapo are nothing if not capitalists. not to put too fine a point on it or excuse El Chapo but I'm pretty sure that plenty of Forbes List regulars have committed crimes (illegal or not) on a par with his.

looks like El Chapo's bearing up under the recession tho - it was a big deal last year when El Mochomo Beltran got busted, supposedly caused a bunch of shakeups in alignments, broke up the Sinaloa Cartel. El Chapo's a tough dude tho - man you have to be to survive 15 yrs of war with all comers, the Arellano Félix ppl & the Gulf Cartel & the Zetas & whoever else.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

And a photo essay: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4749

I love the title of this - "Spring Break Gone Wrong?" - always charming to see that the main way Americans* relate to this business is as whether or not it'll upset their tropical paradise getaways.

the irony being of course that I'd bet the narcos are the last ppl who want to upset the tourist trade.

*don't think all you smug Euro bastards () are exempt either, just smarter about it - San Cristobal was always overflowing with Scandinavian backpackers in those handwoven ponchos...

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

also in happier news Mexico moves on to the 2nd round of the World Baseball Classic by trouncing Australia 16-1. they take it pretty seriously there, especially up north w/the heavier American influences, tho it's still a distant second to el fútbol.

it's something I guess...

 

[polystyle]

Lords , domains

A detailed map of influence , territories ...
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/22/us/BORDER.html

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

^interesting that they include Oaxaca/Chiapas/Yucatan...not that I'd doubt there's some cartel presences there just that drugs have always seemed like/been (?) much more of a northern thing...certainly that whole narco culture, the corridas & Santa Muerte & all that, is much more prevalent in the north (& parts of Mexico City, Tepito etc). as the # of deaths by state bears out I guess. actually in my experience ppl in rural southern Mexico are pretty antidrug - esp. the EZLN, who are way down on drugs & narco culture (as you might expect from indigenous peasants & old Maoists) - also back when Zedillo was in office there were allegedly some attempts by the govt to secretly plant marijuana in EZLN territory & then use that as a causus belli to start open warfare back up.

also I wonder about that figure of "over 6,000 killed in the last yr" which keeps getting quoted - not that it's unaccurate, I wouldn't know - just that the border is quite a violent place anyway, as is Mexico City...one wonders how exactly a "drug war" death is separated out from political violence, economic violence, crimes of passion...I'm sure it gets rather messy for the statisticians (demographers?).

 

[scottdisco]

another article from the big dailies about the drugs violence upsurge (here) but two interesting bits near the end, i thought.

i am, of course, not flagging up what i am about to because i care more about the lives of Americans than Mexicans or anything like that, but just because the first bit of intel was a bit eyebrow-raising for me personally.

But law enforcement sources fear it may be too late to tighten up the border as the cartels are already firmly established in an estimated 230 US cities.
In Phoenix, Arizona, alone there have been 700 cartel-related crimes in the past two years, including kidnappings and shootings by gangs prepared to shove a gun into a baby's mouth to get their way.
Although the cartels have warned that they will treat American law enforcement no differently than Mexican police, experts are split over whether the cartels are willing to use the same level of violence in the US.
Many cartel members are already thought to live quietly just over the border, one reason that may explain why, despite the carnage across the river, El Paso is one of the safest cities in America.

and

According to Diana Washington Valdez, an El Paso investigative reporter who has covered the cartels extensively, Mr Calderon is isolated, allegedly surrounded by officials who are paid as much as $500,000 (£340,000) a month to supply the cartels with information.
"The big guys haven't been arrested. The authorites know where they are but they're always tipped off and protected," she said. "If the Mexicans are serious, they have to go after these politicians who are on the take."
The Juarez troop surge was financially unsustainable, she said. "What's missing is a decisive plan of action. The cartels will lie low for a while and then get back to business. I'm afraid the violence will go on until everyone who is meant to die, dies."

an accompanying map in the print edition (not online) does indeed brand violence "hot spots" up north mainly, as you might expect: Ciudad Juarez, Mexicali, Tijuana, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey, Matamoros, with southwestern Acapulco and central-north Culiacan the only non-far northern stand-outs.

on the same, here's the LAT's interactive map.

top baseball news

 

[scottdisco]

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the US must take part of the blame for drug-related violence in Mexico.
Speaking as she arrived in Mexico, she said the US's appetite for drugs and its inability to stop arms crossing the border were helping fuel the violence.

Indeed, Madam Secretary.

 

[josef k.]

When I heard Clinton say that, I was so struck by the insight, that I opened my mouth, and the belt which I was gripping in my teeth fell-out.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

just watched an Anderson Cooper 360 on the "The War Next Door" (catchy title innit) filmed in El Paso - way way over the top, AC standing in front of a fenced off section of the border, under flightlights as they chose to film it at night, to heighten the drama I'm sure. Granted it's CNN but really it struck me how the story was marketed as much as reported on. Of course it's great copy I'm sure, the stuff that gives newscasters wet dreams, drugs & violence, the whole "reporting from a warzone" vibe. anyway a few other things that struck me about it;

-they really drove home the point that the flow of guns from U.S. to Mexico is inseparable from & nearly as bad as the flow of drugs the other way - this is not a point I've really seen raised elsewhere but it makes a lot of sense - it's quite difficult to buy (legally, at least) guns in Mexico
-all the security "expert" types AC talked to seemed to have a pretty healthy respect for the narcos' capabilities - one dude from STRATFOR even referred to them as an "insurgency" (which doesn't really make sense to me? if so what are their goals as "insurgents"?) - talking about how good their intel arms are, how proficient they are at small unit operations...reminded me of how ppl were talking about Hizballah back in '06 actually
-ppl referring to the narcos as "terrorists" - I mean, I guess I can see this - but really they're businessmen innit? in a way that most "terrorists" are not? I just mean there's no ideology behind their use of terror, or rather the ideology is just capitalism at its most "red in tooth & claw" form...
-another security guy mentioned that the recent explosion of violence is largely the result of the Calderon administration attempting to crack down - I guess then it's a chicken & egg scenario whether the violence or repression came first - anyway it seems tho for like a long time the violence was relatively "contained", at least the narcos mostly stuck to just killing each other, this concerted campaign against cops/military/govt is fairly recent, at least in Mexico...
-a bit with an American family who'd been abducted & held for ransom in Baja - I'm dubious tho about how many abductions are actually cartel-related? I mean why would they want to mess up tourism? also a darkly hilarious bit where they said the (American) tourists had "country they loved stolen from them" by their (Mexican) kidnappers - wtf?

One other thing - how well planned the actual smuggling itself is - I don't know this should be surprising but it is, I reckon maybe cos we when think of drugs we think of chaos/violence/poverty etc. anyway it's exceedingly well-planned, down to the last milligram. actually this, much moreso than the violence, really drives home to me the impossibility of "winning" a Drug War. I mean after all it's just business...

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

Indeed, Madam Secretary.

yeah I was pretty flummoxed by this as well. good on her I guess, tho I'm rather dubious as to whether such an acknowledgement will have any real effect on stemming the flow of arms or curbing America's appetite for drugs. still, surely better than burying one's head in the sand & blaming it all on Mexico...

top baseball news

alas, Mexico got knocked out in the quarterfinals. Korea & Japan wound up in the final (after Daisuke Matsuzaka beat the Americans in the semis) & Japan pulled out their second straight WBC title...on an Ichiro hit in the 10th inning...I reckon this is all unintellegible to you Brits tho. actually the final was nuts - in L.A., tons of Koreans going absolutely mad - man the Koreans & Japanese do not get along well do they...there's a crazy Ichiro quote from the last WBC - "I want to beat South Korea so badly, that the South Koreans won't want to play Japan for another 30 years"...

 

[crackerjack]

Mexican police are celebrating the arrest of one of the country's most wanted drugs barons, picked up while jogging in a park in Mexico City.

Vicente Carillo Leyva, the 32-year-old heir to the Juarez cartel, was still wearing his white Abercrombie & Fitch tracksuit when he was paraded before the media in the Mexican capital yesterday.

The arrest was seen as a major coup for the security forces, who are often accused of letting drugs barons operate with impunity.

By a happy coincidence, however, Carrillo Leyva was captured just hours before the US Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano and Eric Holder, Attorney General, arrived for talks about plans for tougher border controls to stop US weapons reaching Mexican drug gangs.

as if by magic

 

[scottdisco]

At most baptisms only close relatives and friends are in attendance but this is not exactly a normal 'family'.

Cited by the US as major players in the international drugs trade the 'Familia Michoacana' had its christening gate-crashed by 400 police officers and two Blackhawk helicopters.

here

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

good article from Small Wars Journal

from a security/COIN perspective, treating the cartels as a "criminal insurgency" ("best" of both worlds, I guess?). a few bits of interest, one about "failed states":

Absent a few egregious cases such as Somalia, most states usually do not "fail". Rather, states that experience a prolonged shift in their internal dynamics change to different forms of sovereignty. While certain forms of sovereignty may be preferable to others, state change is not equivalent to state failure. The heated debate over whether or not Mexico is a failed state obscures the operational & strategic dyamics of the criminal insurgency & possible policy solutions.

they also refer to cartels as multiple "parallel states".
this is rather troubling if not really surprising, except in scope:

Mexican defense officials estimate that 100,000 soldiers have quite to join the cartels over the last seven years.

I can't vouch for their statistics obv - the Zetas are definitely comprised mostly of ex-military types, that's their calling card - other than that I dunno.

Other than that, they're improving their weapons/training, Mexico is as you might expect dependant on military intervention to a worrying degree cause its law enforcement isn't capable of standing up to the cartels (both in terms of fighting & more generally), some stuff about underage sicarious drawing parallels to child soldiers in Africa, conclusion that the cartels will probably successful in moving things back to where they were before the crackdown - if not in toppling the Mexican govt, which isn't their goal - unless they overreach themselves (a distinct possibility, i.e. Escobar), and so on & so on...

 

[vimothy]

Interesting: http://www.drewconway.com/zia/?p=304

 

[polystyle]

Death in Mexico ( Cont. )

This one is pretty bad.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/world/americas/04mexico.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

 

[scottdisco]

for those in London

Tita Radilla, vice-president of the Mexican Association of Relatives of the Detained, Disappeared and Victims of Human Rights Violations (AFADEM), will be in London in November to speak about her long fight for justice

info