Alberto Díaz-Cayeros and Barbara Walter's Blog on Violence in Mexico
How Violence in Mexico is Designed to Work
11/10/2011
Erik Voeten,
The Monkey Cage
President Obama and his Secretary of State had their first public disagreement last year – not over Iraq or Afghanistan, but Mexico. Hillary Clinton argued that Mexico was increasingly in the midst of an "insurgency." President Obama argued that the drug killings in Mexico, whose numbers far exceed U.S. troop deaths in Afghanistan, is not. That's because the drug trade organizations (DTO's) have only financial goals, not political ones. The Mexican government has consistently agreed with President Obama, repeatedly rejecting any suggestion that an insurgency is taking place.
The violence in Mexico may not be a classic insurgency , but it is certainly being fought like one. Like other insurgencies, the violence in Mexico – especially the brutal killings of government officials and civilians – is being used to intimidate local populations and control territory. The Mexican government provides health, education and other public services to most citizens and provides order and security in the vast majority of towns and cities, including Mexico City. But the insurgents control about 7 percent of the country, including important drug distribution routes, and they have used violence to do so.
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Alberto Díaz-Cayeros is an Associate Professor of International Relations and Pacific Studies and Director of the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies (USMEX).
Barbara F. Walter is a Professor of International Relations and Pacific Studies and Affiliated Faculty of Political Science.
