THOUGHT STANCE – #1

Citation

“Another related question is who are the targets of cartel violence? The answer is revealing—less than ten percent of the deaths in Mexico have been agents of the state. If there were an all-out assault by the cartels against the Mexican state, as in an insurgency, the proportion would be much higher.” (Kan 39) Significant

“In the majority of instances, they have not “captured” the state to implement any social or political agenda, rather their objective has been to neutralize the power of the state.” (Kan 38) Controversial

“High-intensity law enforcement is a comprehensive, long-term strategy. It is an approach that addresses the many pieces of a complex problem, its goal is the reduction of the drug-fueled violence. Ideally, this strategy will result in a manageable law and order solution, similar to the organized crime threat found in the vast majority of other countries.” (Kan 46) Significant

Reflections: I wholeheartedly agree with Kan’s focus in his speech “What we’re getting wrong about Mexico.” I agree that there are important differences that need to be recognized between the violence going on in Mexico and the violence going on in insurgent movements across the globe. However, his point that cartels do not have any sort of political agenda is interesting and debatable to me. While drug cartels do not seek to implement their own policies or vie for positions of power in the government, they do seek to infiltrate government by using bribery and violence to perform illegal activities. In a way I believe drug cartels do want to use the state to their advantage and do have a political objective, which is to support political workers who make their business easier. I do agree with Kan that the main target of Mexican violence is not the government, as shown by the statistic that “less than ten percent of the deaths in Mexico have been agents of the state.” Because their target is not the state, cartels cannot be categorized with insurgent movements whose main focus is taking control of the state. While cartels do wish to influence the state, they do not wish to take control as their main focus is economic. I think that the economic focus of drug cartels is to blame for the scale of the violence – there is not easier way to get rich, fast, than to get involved with the drug business. There is also inherent risk, as Kan points out, because with an illegal activity there are literally no rules. These factors have made drug violence into the “high-intensity” crime we see today. I like Kan’s last point about the type of counter- efforts Mexico needs to implement if it wants to see an end to the violence. More adequately dispersed, better trained, and more intense police forces are necessary as well as aid from other countries such as the US and Canada. There is no reason we shouldn’t be there for our neighbor, as we also share in the responsibility for this increasingly violent situation.

(Word count: 353)

Documentation: Must include the Speaker’s name; Title of video, and date of speech.