The Dutch NGO IKV Pax Christi has come out with a report that Mexico now leads the world in kidnappings, beating out competition from Colombia, which once topped the list, and even Iraq.
In response to some high profile kidnappings recently (especially that of Fernando Marti) there are marches for "security" being organized in Mexico City. The organizers have called for the dealth penalty for kidnappers, which would require modifiying Mexico's long term stance against capital punishment.
The danger of this reaction to the situation, explained Emilio Alvarez Icaza, at a panel organized by the Fundación Heinrich Boell last week, is that "A crisis is the absolute worst time to legislate. Mexico signed two agreements specifically against the death penalty just last year."
Hopefully this knee jerk reaction to the situation, which clearly needs a more comprehensive solution than just radical legislation, won't prevail.
El Universal article: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/161690.html
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
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