Whack-a-mole: Mexico Should Call off the War on the Cartels

This article gets it half right and half wrong. Yes, militarization is destructive and a waste of Mexico's (and the U.S.'s) limited resources. Yes, the (maybe) fragmented cartels get more violent - and move to Guatemala (destroying it, too). Yes, Mexico's justice institutions need dramatic reform and this cannot occur while the county is fighting a war.

But, not fighting the cartels will leave them even freer to corrupt the government and undermine the development of democracy, which is already fragile.

Yes, Calderon can do little. Only the U.S. can chage this destructive dynamic by legalizing drugs, thus eliminating cartel profits and the violence. Yes, the cartels have other lines of business - extorsion, kidknapping - but then the Mexican government would be confronted with its real challenge, building a functioning criminal justice system.

Mexico: Call off the War on the Cartels: "Mexican President Felipe Calderon is losing his war on the drug cartels.

Calderon argues that Mexico cannot win its war against the cartels unless the U.S. does more to curb insatiable American demand. He’s right about that, of course, but that doesn’t mean Mexico should drown in a bloodbath while the U.S. grapples with its drug addiction.

So what can Calderon do?

The answer, basically, is nothing. Mexico was not ready for Calderon's war on drugs. Weak democratic institutions, a corrupt and ineffective judicial system and underdeveloped infrastructure have made it virtually impossible for the Mexican government to break up the country’s vast and flexible criminal networks.

Rather than devote limited resources to fighting a futile internal war, Calderon would be better advised to focus on more attainable goals; like implementing judicial reforms, expanding access to credit, growing the middle class, and promoting government accountability and transparency.