Mexican Politics: Drugs, Decentralization and Democracy

Here is a detailed analysis of the interrelation between the political changes in Mexico and consequent economic changes that re-inforce the illegal drug market.

Mexico: Drugs, Decentralization and Democracy: "Did the misunderstood emphasis since the late 1980s on political and economic democracy contribute to the huge increase in Mexico’s drug activity and outmigration to the United States and other nations?[1] I believe that it did.

Traditionally, theorists advocating political and economic democracy assume that there is a roughly equal distribution of political, social and economic power and resources in a nation. This equality has never been true of Mexico. Oligarchs, interlocking directorates, and politicians with ties to banking, and now to illegal drug activities, abound.[2] The highly centralized state concentrated power, leaving little control to state and municipal authorities. Modernization and democratization appeared—once again—to require breaking up then-current structures." Nov. 8, 2010, Mexidata (a private firm that provides consultation on the Mexican economy to foreign businesses)