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.
The local government is abandoned and faces drug violence without any recourse other than civil courage.
