Faced with the failed strategies against the cartels implemented by Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto, López Obrador presented an alternative strategy during his long campaign that, according to him, would fundamentally resolve this grave danger.
The problem is that, while it was indeed a very different plan from those of his predecessors, it was largely based on false, fanciful premises that bore no resemblance to reality.
Utopian ideals are dangerous not only because they will prove ineffective, but above all because they tend to be counterproductive.
Furthermore, although many of these measures could have had some positive effect, it turns out that almost all of AMLO’s proposals were not implemented; in fact, the opposite was often done.
After the 2012 election, he wrote: “Tranquility and peace are the fruits of justice. My commitment (in 2012) was that there would be no more war or deaths, human rights would be respected, and the families of victims would be supported.”
“We would achieve all of this by giving everyone opportunities, avoiding the frustration that leads to outbursts of hatred and resentment.”
A titanic task that, of course, was not accomplished, not only because of its inherent difficulty, but also because it wasn’t fully implemented.
The drug-related violence crisis would be resolved as follows: “I proposed bringing peace to the country with honest and incorruptible public servants in the Attorney General’s Office, the Ministry of Public Security, and the police forces, where we would have to work with efficiency, intelligence, and perseverance… There would be a unified command, and we would work in a coordinated manner.”
Again, even if this had been implemented, it wouldn’t have fundamentally solved the problem. And second, AMLO did exactly the opposite; He appointed known crooks from the neoliberal parties and placed them in key positions, which resulted in a large number of corruption cases, now fully proven: Segalmex, La Barredora, the Maya Train, Dos Bocas, and of course, the tax-related fuel theft.
What a way to combat the drug lords—who likely participated in several of these extortions.
Another part of the project was to cater to neglected youth, from whom hitmen for the cartels emerged:
“A hallmark of the neoliberal or neo-Porfirian period has been, precisely, the marginalization and disregard of youth. The lack of opportunities for new generations has produced frustration, hatred, and resentment that fuel the violence we suffer.”
He announced the “Youth Sowing the Future” program, according to which no young person would accept joining the cartels anymore (as if many weren’t already forced into it), and to that extent, the cartels would collapse, like a company running out of workers.
Clearly, despite the program’s implementation, it had none of the effects AMLO envisioned.
The greater social justice AMLO hoped to achieve would remove incentives for people to join the cartels, but even more importantly, the kingpins and hitmen themselves would no longer need to remain in a life of crime, as they too would receive justice through legal and formal employment.
Why be super-rich if with a decent job you could lead a normal and peaceful life?
The president’s appeal to all Mexicans, honest citizens and criminals alike, would also help, urging them “to avoid confrontations between brothers… This strategy of using force to solve social problems only exacerbates the situation and produces more suffering.”
The president’s call to incorporate ethical and even religious values would, according to him, change criminals, leading them to live honestly and with dignity, though not luxuriously. What an imagination!
And that, in turn, would end criminal violence. Hence his repeated invitations to hitmen and drug lords to heed their grandmothers’ advice to lay down their weapons and take honest work, even if it wasn’t well-paid.
Between fantasies and moral advice, but also due to non-compliance regarding the honesty of officials, as well as respect for the bosses, violence, ungovernability and complicity began to overflow more and more, and that was the legacy she left to her successor, trapped by a situation that she cannot – and it is not clear that she wants to – seriously stop.
Source: etcetera
