Beheadings etc.. what the hell is going on in Mexico?

[Pekka]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/26/world/americas/26mexico.html?ex=1162526400&en=76c4958308ef2222&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Check that out. Daylight kidnappings of high ranking cops, beheadings, bazookas.. wtf is going on in Mexico?

[DinoDoc]

Mexico is a third world country.

[Dinner]

It's all drug violence. The country is poor but with some very rich areas (Mexico has the second highest number of millionaires after the US) so there is a huge amount of class conflict. The clean cops try to go after the drug gangs and the drug lords bribe the poor cops (who make something like $250 per month and have to buy their own uniform and gun). The clean cops who become a real problem end up dead just like the Presidential candidates who promise to use the army to kill drug gang members and go after corrupt officials.

Resource wise the country could be in pretty good shape with an average income of around $12,000 per year per person. However the society is EXTREMELY polarized between rich and poor where the poor may make $2000 per year and the rich making $1million plus per year.

It is an excellent example of what occurs when Republican policies on not taxing capital but taxing labor ultimately brings. You end up with a society of extreme haves and have nots. Which is why you should have progressive taxation, including taxation on investor income, so that the rich subsidize the poor and help maintain a viable middle class.

[Pekka]

Right, but did you read that article? It's like drug violence slash open warfare. I mean open warfare as in hundreds and hundreds of dead in a short time etc.

[Dinner]

That is a war between the drug gangs. The police are totally corrupt and the Federales (the Federal Paramilitary Police) have had several top people assinated in recent years. That goes back to the dirt poor street Federale can't say no to the drug lord who offers him $100,000 to tell them how to find leaders.

You always have drug cartel violence down there. The cartels even assinated the front runner for President a few years back. This is nothing new though maybe a bit more intense then usual due to several cartels duking it out.

[Chemical Ollie]

A task for El Supercitizenio

[Pekka]

Yeah, but this says it's also an open war against cops.. five heads of cops just got stuck in the PD fence with a note that this should teach some respect.. and that's just to begin with. That's crazy man.. to me that sounds like declaring an open war against police, and if you do that, you better have a lot of muscle. I guess they do.

But what about the police, what are they going to do, besides being in the recieving end? don't they have an army to come in and get everyone they know and just.. jail the ones they missed to shoot?

[Pekka]

CO, I don't think so!

That is, I don't speak esperanto...

[SlowwHand]

I've tried telling this place about Mexico, but the image of a funny little fellows in sombreros singing "la cucaracha", and long-legged women with a rose clamped between their teeth, clicking castenettes is all you seem to believe.

They've been snatching people in the border towns and killing them for a long time.

[Pekka]

Sloww, if I was Texan, I'd be looking the border pretty carefully. Don't want that crap to spread across. It would be unforgiveable.

[SlowwHand]

I've also said we need to tighten the borders. Finally a fence has been authorized. We'll see if that does any good. Sure can't hurt.

[Pekka]

Well I guess that depends how far the real trouble is from the border and how willing these real gangsters are about moving across for some reason.

That said, that stuff can't go unwatched. A situation like that is in the interest of the US government or should be. I guess the DEA or so are closely working together with their Mexican fellow officers, and I think they should be.

[SlowwHand]

Hell almost everyone here thinks I'm a raving redneck if I bring it up. Border patrol is hiring as fast as they can.

It's a damned problem, and I'm glad you noticed.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
I've also said we need to tighten the borders. Finally a fence has been authorized. We'll see if that does any good. Sure can't hurt.

The fence thing is a total joke. They only paid for 1/5 of it, and even once fully funded it will cover less then 1/3 of the border. Construction start time has never been declared.

This was nothing more then a lame, half ass election year sham. A complete and total lie. The Republicans didn't do anything on immigration reform because they were afraid of alienating latino voters and putting the Democrats in office while the Democratic proposal stands far more chance of actually slowing illegal immigration since it would massively increase fines to companies which hire illegals. OF course the President is against that because it might harm his law dodging corporate donors.

[Pekka]

Well, I haven't really read anything on Mexico and the border situation since it's not really my forte. I mean I know about Mexico but I didn't know the situation was that bad. I just thought it was bad.

Clearly that's a problem though, and what's more, that's a security risk for the US. And we know what happens with that stuff, when some of those cartels start to have beefs with the US counterparts, there might be a war happening. And these dudes chops off the heads of cops and that's business as usual? Seems like a security risk to me.