Culture of Authoritarian Poverty

Culture of Authoritarian Poverty

Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero

Latin American populism, whether left or right, always ends up drawing on the culture of poverty that distinguishes the primitive social complexity produced by the economic structure.

Jaime Castrejón Diez, focusing on the analysis of the types of civilization that make up Mexican society, found that the elements of the primitive and basic social fabric were predominant in our country.

The foundation of Mexican society is primitive given its marginal economic level.

The failure of neoliberals to change the Mexican order would have logically resulted in the triumph of populism—left or right—sooner or later.

The liberal democratization of Mexico depends on the construction of a middle class, which, until now, is more a wish than a concrete reality.

The reaction of the opposition to Morena in the face of a populist wave that continues unabated in the country is ironic. What did they expect? José Antonio Aguilar Rivera—like Loris Zanatta—has described the enormous difficulties that liberal culture faces in Latin America due to the social and historical context.

Indeed, the liberal commitment—high civilization—suddenly appears to be a lost adventure in Mexico.

Foolish republics become eternal and multiplying.

However, the bill for civilizational failure must be imposed not only on society but primarily on its elites.

This regression not only condemns us to backwardness and poverty in political evolution, but also to a series of problems that will complicate governability: caracoles are slow but impetuous.

Carlos Salinas had to make twice as many authoritarian decisions as Lázaro Cárdenas is credited with in order to achieve neoliberal modernization. Fox lacked the courage to cut the umbilical cord with the PRI, and Calderón led the country into a war that had been corrupted and negotiated as a defeat since Los Pinos.

The authoritarian poverty of the elites is worse than that of society.

The social primitivism of the people that terrifies Zanatta and Aguilar Rivera—as it did with Tocqueville—is less than the part that concerns the elites.

Municipal Government and the Drug War

 Municipal Government and the Drug War

Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero

The municipality is becoming a crime zone or authoritarian enclave that represents enormous governance problems for the Mexican State. During Felipe Calderón Hinojosa's administration, crime rates in the municipalities were high; now, the degree of cartel penetration in local governments is excessive; it can be said that city councils represent the petty cash of the groups generating violence.

What is happening with the municipal government even represents an added variable for the phenomenon of caciques. The caciques used violence and crime to impose their power; now, the situation in several municipalities simply presents alternative governments led by organized crime.

Hence the contradiction between the mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, and the presidency of the republic in Mexico. The federal government lacks the sensitivity to understand the magnitude of the violence and pressure of the problems generated by drug trafficking. Once again, the situation in Michoacán during the Calderón administration serves as evidence of local problems and the way they have grown. Michoacán is one of the states hardest hit by drug trafficking violence.

How can extreme violence be reduced at the regional level? If the security policy of the previous administration has proven counterproductive, it is important to stop minimizing regional problems and propose new forms of public policy. Michoacán has had significant problems stemming from drug trafficking; the governments of Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto ultimately exacerbated the situation of insecurity. Morena has also failed to find a consistent way to protect society. The Bajío region of the country is one of the most violent areas in the republic.

Mexico's mayors, for the most part, are helpless in the face of drug trafficking, and governability, as well as the rule of law, are disappearing in the face of the power of drug trafficking militias and organized crime. The good ideas regarding security intelligence and institutional protection at the local level that were developed to amend constitutional articles 11, 21, and 115 remain a dead letter if the federal government fails to act. How many Teuchitlanes or Igualas will Mexico endure? Narco-governance cannot be sanctioned or judged if the abandonment of the established federal government is the recurring method of responding to the local government's calls.

Eduardo Verástegui and Trumpist Christian Nationalism

 Eduardo Verástegui and Trumpist Christian Nationalism

Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero

The meeting between Eduardo Verástegui and U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson has generated interest due to Verástegui's closeness to President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement. Verástegui represents a faction of the Mexican right that seeks to consolidate a political bloc aligned with Trump's interests in Mexico.

Verástegui has established ties with international right-wing leaders, especially Trump, and has participated in Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) events in the United States. His goal is to found a political party in Mexico similar to Trump's Republican Party, promoting a political-religious agenda that combines neoliberalism, Christian nationalism, and Catholicism.

The Mexican right is currently dispersed and lacks a coherent discourse, divided into several factions. Verástegui seeks to attract disenchanted conservative sectors and PAN members with an agenda aligned with the principles of the American right. Their movement, "Viva México," could open a new space for the right in the country.

The Mexican right is dispersed, divided, and lacking a strategic logic, much less a coherent discourse. The Mexican right has become tribalized by economic factionalism. On the one hand, conservative and traditionalist Catholic nationalism is unsure whether to remain in the PAN, found a new political party, or even join Morena at the express invitation of Ricardo Monreal. The neoliberal right remains tied to technocratic essentialism, but lacks the capacity to explain and justify itself to society, which it continues to view as a six-thousand-dollar group. The libertarian right has become an anti-populist and anti-Mexican club. The civil and liberal right is dispersed in the pink tide, recreating the nostalgia for decent PANism.

The adoption of Trumpism by Verástegui and other participants at CPAC Mexico could intensify political polarization and legitimize radical discourses. The presence of international figures with classist and racist discourse could deepen social divisions and erode Mexican democracy.

The closeness between Verástegui and Ambassador Johnson is significant, as Johnson called Verástegui "his brother" during a private dinner in his honor. This meeting reflects the interest of a faction of the Mexican right in strengthening its ties with Trumpism, which carries significant risks for Mexico's political and social stability.

With Verástegui, Mexico could become like Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, or the Dominican Republic. Perhaps this is not a bad invitation to the right-wing parties in our country, who lack the strength to transform Mexico into a conservative modernity like Spain, Chile, or Argentina. It is not just a traditional patriarchy that lies behind Eduardo Verástegui; there is a Mexican national project that integrates, in some ways, with Donald Trump's MAGA perspective. The power network surrounding Verástegui connects North American politicians seeking to replicate Miami in Latin America, but there are also Latin American and Hispanic collaborators.

Verástegui's national project conditions Mexico's annexation to North America and, above all, ecumenism with Protestant Christians. Although the anti-Castro influence of Hispanic North American politicians seems evident, there is also a hidden Catholic right wing that is on the verge of religious schism due to its lack of influence in the Catholic Church, mainly due to recent changes.

Gray or Failed State: Mexico and the United States Facing Drug Trafficking

 Gray or Failed State: Mexico and the United States Facing Drug Trafficking

Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero

The narrative of the fight against drug trafficking has been a recurring theme in the relationship between Mexico and the United States. However, reality suggests that both countries have failed to address the problem effectively. US intervention in Mexico has focused on regulating the drug phenomenon, but not on limiting it or reducing the flow of psychotropic drugs into the country. Meanwhile, Mexican cartels have continued to operate with impunity, and violence in the country has reached unprecedented levels. The recent departure of drug trafficking leaders to the United States to negotiate with the White House is an indication that the balance of power between the cartels has spiraled out of control.

Some analysts suggest that the US government's intention is to weaken the cartels and impose its hegemony in the region. However, this hypothesis is difficult to understand in a context where violence in Mexico continues to increase. The flight of major drug trafficking groups to the United States is not unprecedented, and one might wonder whether the use of intelligence by the Americans will protect them from possible acts of defense or violence on U.S. soil. Rafael Loret de Mola's novels had already presented scenarios in which the Americans intervened in Mexico to capture the political class linked to crime, but the reality is more complex. What would happen if the war between the cartels also spread to the United States? This has happened with mafias in other countries and even with fights between fundamentalist or terrorist groups.

The relationship between Mexico and the United States has become a vicious cycle, in which drug trafficking and violence feed off each other. Canceling visas and confiscating capital and materials have not been effective in other Latin American countries, and they likely won't be in Mexico. The question is, what can be done to break this cycle of violence and corruption? The response of some intellectuals, such as Sabina Berman and Juan Carlos Monedero, has been to question whether US intervention has been effective in other countries. However, the experience of Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Honduras after the US intervention suggests that these intrusions have been positive.

In this context, it is important to analyze the relationship between Mexico and the United States from a critical perspective. The official narrative regarding the fight against drug trafficking obscures the true intentions of both countries. The United States seeks to maintain its hegemony in the region, while Mexico is incapable of addressing the structural problems underlying drug trafficking. Cooperation between the two countries is an illusion, and the reality is that both are trapped in a labyrinth of violence and corruption. The reality is that both Mexico and the United States are failed states and gray areas in their own right, incapable of addressing the structural problems underlying drug trafficking. However, the nearly fifty million Mexicans living illegally in the United States should be asked whether they would like Mexico to be a protectorate or the 52nd state of the American Union. Berman and Monedero skew their interpretation and overlook this dynamic between Mexico and North America, which, fortunately, beyond politicians, intellectuals, and international organizations, presents an independent path.

Zedillo: The Technicians and Specialists Speak Out

 Zedillo: The Technicians and Specialists Speak Out

Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero

According to Miguel Basáñez, the public sector in our country is made up of three significant groups: politicians, technicians, and specialists. Recently, given the decomposition of the Mexican State and the threats of invasion from the Yankees, it can be said—with complete certainty—that we have an unhealthy political class. The generation of Juárez liberals faced foreign invasion due to insufficient payments on the foreign debt and geopolitical reasons; now, Mexico is on the verge of being taken over by corrupt, corrupt, and criminal thugs. One reason for the current state of affairs is that the technical and specialized sectors of the government have been tied up, blocked, and silenced in the name of absolute loyalty to abject ignorance.

Political hegemocracy, as Basáñez defines it, did not begin entirely with Morena. The balance of power has benefited politicians since the Vicente Fox administration and has reached total dominance during the Fourth Transformation. Lopez Obrador's administration pledged to rebuild the Mexican state through one of the most effective expert sectors: the Army; but something went wrong along the way. The traditional patrimonialism and pragmatism of Mexican job creation prevailed in the political landscape. The macro-networks of bosses, corporatism, and clientelism boosted Morena's electoral strength, and now there's no turning back. Paying bills and political favors blocks economic growth and development.

Zedillo has raised the debate on the country's economic projects in the public sphere. Even from an extreme Machiavellian position, the results are what they are, and the reality facing the Sheinbaum administration and the progressive populist national revolutionary project cannot be called a success. If Zedillo were wrong in his remarks, Claudia Sheinbaum's letter to Morena would not have been sent, much less would it have triggered the moral code for the Morena politician. Why insist on the good conduct of the Morena politician if the 4T is pure, untainted, and God-fearing? The dominance of Morena politicians is affecting the Mexican state, as many make immorality their main virtue; especially the defectors, whose political entrepreneurship becomes savage, barbaric, and overwhelming.

Beyond neoliberalism, technical skills and specialists must balance willful and pragmatic political action. Mexican empiricism has brought us to the brink of chaos, and it is necessary to recognize that technology has no ideology nor does it belong to the domain of a class or caste. Mexico's capacity to govern is on the brink of ineffectiveness. The government must engage the appropriate technicians and specialists to restore the lost consistency between the formulation and results of public policies.

Mobilizing National Populism in Latin America

 Mobilizing National Populism in Latin America

Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero

According to Menno Vellinga, the Latin American state had one of its most accurate projects for change and diagnoses when the letters of intent and the Washington Consensus established the economic, political, and social measures to carry out modernization and institutionalization processes. However, the technocratic vision was disrupted by a political class that sabotaged the processes of change and decided to regain patrimonialist inertia. Like Guillermo O'Donnell, he pointed out that the best model for Latin America was represented by Technocratic-Military Bureaucracy linked to Delegative Democracies, a weak situation for the consolidation of democracy in Latin America and economic growth; however, it was a starting point of no return for the establishment of a state from a Weberian and Constitutionalist perspective. It is true that this implied open-heart surgery without anesthesia; However, this is the prescription for a social order where the State does not have hegemony but rather relative autonomy from various groups and de facto powers.

However, for Vellinga, as well as for the Argentine scholar, historical inertia and cultural variables are stronger than state capacity, and therefore, Weak, Failed, or Facade States controlled by strong, motley, multi-cultural, authoritarian societies characteristic of the Habsburg Model prevail. The fact is that clientelist, populist, and social movement phenomena pose situations of ungovernability for the State, which ends up being held hostage by the bourgeoisie, oligarchies, or the ruling elites of social movements.

What is not fully understood in Latin America is that for the emergence of the State, it is essential to end the Habsburg Model as a social order. This configuration was a clientelist and corporatist arrangement developed since the colonial era with the preeminence of the Catholic Church, but it implies vulnerability to the processes of globalization and geopolitical competition, such as what is currently being experienced.

Under progressive governments, the state's presence is also not consolidated; activist and militant bureaucracy reveals the extreme weakness of the institutional order. The left in government promotes social mobilization as a spontaneous input for public policies, even though this means naively betting on an imaginary effective capacity. Social mobilization will not stop Donald Trump or the economic agenda imposed by the White House on our country.

The North American relationship with Mexico has taken a roller coaster course that demands a functioning state in our country. The lack of cohesion within Morena and, above all, respect for the directives of the Presidency of the Republic will end up undermining governability in the country and inciting Trumpism to develop more interventionist actions. The enormous gap between the activism of Morena officials and their concrete results demonstrates how important it is to take the task of governing seriously.

Public Education in Mexico: Business, Skills, and Health

 Public Education in Mexico: Business, Skills, and Health

Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero

The actions of the Secretary of Public Education, Mario Delgado, have generated controversy between the conservatives and reformers of the Fourth Transformation. This could be seen as a healthy debate between subordinate groups and the pragmatic alliances of the current government, or as a clear sign of how López Obrador's administration continues to set the pace for Claudia Sheinbaum.

Public education in Mexico undoubtedly has an enormous task when it comes to nutrition; however, there are also other discussions that are equally important. The educational reform of the Fourth Transformation has not been implemented or materialized in a minimal way; there are only basic ways to understand what type of education and culture Morena seeks to promote among Mexicans.

Although dialogue between the Secretary of Public Education and the business sector can be considered a basic form of negotiation in democracies, the truth is that the Fourth Transformation, like any government, diminishes the mechanism of collective participation for decision-making. It is true that participatory democracy has its drawbacks; bureaucratic specialists must make decisions immediately; however, Mario Delgado's haste and his particular management style demonstrate that negotiations go beyond lobbying. Beyond the setups, debates, and generating public opinion, some suspicious individuals observe the construction of Mario Delgado's presidential candidacy with the patronage of outside sectors, as has occurred in various spheres where he participates.

Crony capitalism continues in full swing in Mexico, and this appears to be Mario Delgado's strategy. Public space is rented to the highest bidder, and academic content is of little importance. Faced with the challenges of the immediate future—China and the United States—this indicates that public officials are thinking about many things, except how to organize a problem and respond effectively to society.

Welfare scholarships have been important in supporting a large portion of Mexican students; however, they benefit the traditional business sector as the last link. Couldn't the Mexican government be more concerned with providing a public education that guarantees the increase in skills and competencies to face the dystopian world being posed by Donald Trump?

The López Obrador left is calling for strikes and mobilizations to demand compliance with the elimination of junk food in public schools; the importance of this issue is undeniable, but the development of technical and scientific skills for the future is more important. International indicators indicate that there are many academic problems in Mexico's public schools, and this is part of a debate that must one day be taken seriously. Mexico cannot continue to ignore the implementation of a homogeneous and functional educational reform, democratically and consciously constructed. When politics is removed from the educational issue, it will make an enormous contribution to Mexico's problems.