Insufficient Commitment to Mexican Progress Contrary to Canada's Well Being

Canadians like to think that our country is safe from many of the troubles that plague the rest of the world. Indeed, we have been blessed to be spared the endemic poverty, corruption, food and human insecurity, and bad governance that trouble many other countries of the world. 

However, a 2010 Macleans article argued that Canada is increasingly under threat from Mexican drug cartels. If you've read a newspaper anytime over  the past few months, you'll already know that over 15,000 people have been killed in drug related violence since Mexican President Felipe Calderon bravely decided to take on the drug organizations that had blighted Mexican society for decades. The Americans are very concerned, and have committed a few billion dollars to support democratic institutions and the rule of law in Mexico. They have also  increased cross-border cooperation with the Mexican police to increase the effectiveness of interdiction and law enforcement. 

Once across the border, Mexican drug cartels have free access to the US Interstate system, which has seen trafficking cells established in Atlanta, Arizona, throughout the US Northeast, and finally in Ontario and BC. Phoenix has become known as the "Kidnapping Capital of America", largely as a byproduct of growing Mexican drug organization activity there. 

 

RCMP superintendent Pat Fogarty is certain that the Mexican cartels have established themselves in Canada. Most of the trafficking occurs at the Detroit-Windsor border tunnel. An American DEA agent says that the drug trade between the Mexicans and the Canadian groups is in fact a two -way street: Canada trades Marijuana for Cocaine. Canada needs to develop a coherent strategy to address the causes of Mexico's drug problems, at the very least so our own internal security will become affected as the Mexican traffickers partners become further 

strengthened. 

So far, the response from the Harper Government has been underwhelming. In 2009, PM Harper announced that a paltry $15 million dollars would be spent on the  "Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program" to "enhance the capacity of key beneficiary states, government entities and international organizations, to prevent and respond to threats posed by international criminal activity throughout the hemisphere." In response to Mexican request for technical assistance, Canada sent just eight RCMP officers to the beleaguered Federation to help train police recruits. This response indicates that either the Harper government is happy to free-ride off of the American initiative, or are simply not providing the attention that the Mexican drug war deserves. 

In addition to addressing our own demand-side problems, Canada needs to support the development of social programs, democratic institutions, and the rule of law in Mexico after the harsh sting of years of “stabilizing” macroeconomic policies.

Much like other countries in Latin America, Mexico is marked by high levels of inequality that are masked behind the return to positive macroeconomic indicators. Following the 1982 Debt Crisis, Mexico was left with no decision but to adopt harsh austerity measures, privatize their economy, and undertake structural adjustments to make their economy more competitive. This meant selling state-owned industries, reducing/eliminating state social services, and letting the Mexican population largely fend for themselves in the midst of continued economic crisis.  Upon the signing of NAFTA in 1994, the Zapatista indigenous insurgency was launched in protest of what seemed to be the Constitutionalization of neoliberalism generally and private property 

specifically, long a source of fierce opposition in this community. 

In the 2006 Mexican Presidential Election, a candidate of the Left hostile to NAFTA was very nearly elected. (In fact, some argue that he was only kept from office through electoral fraud.) A big factor in support for anti-NAFTA sentiment is the disillusionment of a population with neoliberal economic policies that are viewed as having been forced upon them, that have not delivered on their promises of sustained growth and social progress, and have instead brought a sharp drop in living standards with only moderate economic prosperity for the few.  Trade with Mexico has become increasingly important to Canada, growing to $27.4 billion dollars in 2010. If an anti-NAFTA candidate in Mexico managed to rescind their commitment to the free trade agreement, it would cause economic hardship for many of Canada's businesses. 

Canada does not have an official CIDA mission to Mexico, although it does provide $400,000 to Mexican NGOs and community groups through the "Canada Fund for Local Initiatives". While this amount is a good start, the restrictions on its use mean that it can have little lasting impact. Organizations can only apply for the fund for a specific project that is completed within a 12 month period, and the average amount given for these projects is 150,000 Mexican Pesos/12,415 Canadian Dollars. These restrictions mean that Canada is neither providing sufficient nor sustained support for peoples whom have been excluded from the economic gains of Canada and others in their own country, perhaps pushing them towards a “Left” policy alternative that is unfavorable to Canada's own interests.

  

The Canadian government needs to recognize that it is in our own country's interest to act to counter the activities of the drug cartels, as well as provide economic development support to the citizens of Mexico. In order keep vital trade with its NAFTA partner growing, Canada should see to it that solutions to Mexico's socioeconomic problems, of which the drug trade is but a symptom, are pursued.