Fri, 08/13/2010 - 06:22

Le Monde criticize harshly Calderon’s war

Photo from Júzgalo tu mismo

 

On one of Wednesday’s editorial of the renowned French newspaper “Le Monde” titled "Le Mexique miné pour les barons de la drogue” (Mexico undermined by the drug barons) caught my attention by it scathing of the text. It’s not because it says   anything that isn’t true, on the contrary, sums it up very well the terrible situation that the country stands, thanks to the unbeatable fight against the drug cartels that president Felipe Calderon launched more then three years ago.
 
The editorial points out interesting points that I consider worth to mention, starting with “The crusade against drug trafficking launched by the conservative president, Felipe Calderon, in need to legitimacy, after the disputed elections of July of 2006, has taken the form of a war without grace”. I have to add to this, that while he was candidate, it never cross his mind to fight the drug cartels, it wasn’t even a campaign promise, he pull it out of his sleeve to increase urgently his acceptance rate.
 
Another point that highlights the French newspaper and has a direct link to the pervious point, is “The lack of a global strategy of power has not helped. The organized crime continues to terrorize the population despite the spectacular seizures of firearms and massive arrests”. This is something that many political analysts, academics, specialized journalist and the opposition parties have been pointing out for quite sometime, that president Calderon sent the country to the battle field without a well trace strategy and the consequence of this, as Le Monde points out, “In face of the failure of his fight, Felipe Calderon is willing to begin a debate on drug legalization, even though that personally he finds the idea —absurd—” . The editorial goes on by saying that Calderon’s initiative is “a sign of openness”,which some of us still have our doubts, because he is still not willing to accept that his strategy has failed, and just continues to find lame excuses of why his fight hasn’t given results yet or blames other for their inaction in the past. This week former President Fox was his target, after he pronounced in favor of drug legalization.
 
The editorial closes with a huge dilemma for many of us here in Mexico in face of the 2012 presidential race, with these words: “The Mexicans must then choose between the freedom offered by the regime emerged of the alternation ten years ago and security guaranteed by the former hegemonic party”. Mexicans are willing to continue with a regime that made a lot of promises, which includes a real change, and has not accomplished anything up to now or choose to return with the authoritarian Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI), that governed the country for seventy one years? Although Le Monde points out, “that many consider the PRI the best option to restore social peace”. The truth is that Mexico’s future is uncertain.


 

 Video footage of one of Reynosa's shooting

 

YouTube user markingxx: This shooting took place on Feburary 17th 2009

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