Mexican drug cartels and international theory: history with solutions

The struggle between the Mexican government and Mexican drug cartels has\ud reached a critical point with the death toll in several areas reaching levels comparable to\ud the failed-state of Afghanistan and war-torn Iraq. While the death toll itself is significant,\ud the manner in which violent attacks are carried out has been particularly gruesome.\ud Politicians, police, journalists, and the average citizen do not seem to be safe\ud from the ever-growing grasp of the drug cartels. There have been several attempts by\ud the Mexican government to put a stop to the drug cartels, and among the most explored\ud approaches has been the increasing level of military intervention of the last twelve\ud years. From the perspective of many Mexican citizens and government officials, the\ud involvement of the military has only made the problem worse: the rising death count\ud resulting from cartel violence is indicative that increased military actions may have led\ud to greater instability and violence within Mexico. In this regard, the problem that both the United\ud States and Mexico must confront is how to quell the influence and destructive power of\ud Mexican drug cartels.\ud This paper will present a number of options for dampening the power and\ud destructive behavior of drug cartels in Mexico. The primary argument presented is that\ud primary actors in the conflict including the Mexican and U.S. governments and the cartels\ud themselves are all rational agents. It will be argued that if poor economic growth,\ud increasing violence and a continued policy of inefficient action by both U.S. and Mexican\ud authorities, then Mexico will fall into a weak state status. As a weak state Mexico\ud will be subject to influence by the ruling cartels, and legitimate democracy will be put\ud in danger as cartels seek to expand their own enterprises.CSU, Chic