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 Editorials | Opinions | June 2005 
Fox Should Go To The Border, Not Russia
 George W. Grayson - The Herald Mexico
While the White House fights an inconclusive war 5,000 miles away, social controls continue to erode in Mexico which — in terms of security — is much more important to the United States than Iraq. An ever-more dispirited Vicente Fox has suffered repeated setbacks in the war against narco-traffickers. Every six months, he has proclaimed his "commitment" to combating the heavily-armed, brazen drug lords.
Yet, violence continues to escalate, especially in Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez and Nuevo Laredo. To his credit, the president has dispatched army units to Nuevo Laredo, where Alejandro Domínguez was gunned down earlier this month within eight hours of becoming police chief. A few weeks earlier, kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán — accompanied by a phalanx of bodyguards — dined openly at an elegant beef house in the city. Guzmán's purpose was "to let people know he's in town," according to FBI agent Arturo Fontes.
In light of this boldness, Fox must do more than send in military cadres. After all, Mexico is approaching the "Año de Hidalgo" — the last year of the six-year presidential term — when sticky-fingered officials divert more monies than usual to their personal bank accounts. First, the chief executive should pull his head from the sand and admit that there is a virtual civil war in his country.
Second, he should make fighting border crime his top priority.
Third, instead of glad-handing with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he should open a satellite presidential office at the frontier in order to take personal control of the anti-cartel battle.
Fourth, he should mobilize support for legislation to permit the extradition of criminals to the United States, even if they face life sentences or the death penalty.
Fifth, he should welcome the assistance of U.S. law-enforcement and military personnel and authorize their carrying appropriate weapons and deploying surveillance aircraft, including the Air Force's E-3 Sentry AWACS.
Finally, he should remind the White House that, mounting local addiction aside, the Mexican mafias depend on U.S. demand. Diminished consumption north of the Río Grande depends on greater education, improved treatment, decriminalizing possession of small quantities of now controlled substances, and reducing mandatory terms in prison where amateur users and vendors evolve into savvy, dangerous hard-core felons.
George W. Grayson, who teaches Government at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is writing a book on Mexico City Mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador. gwgray@wm.edu |
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