Page 60 - Empowerment and Protection - Stories of Human Security

MEXICO
Background
POPULATION
The united Mexican States, commonly known as Mexico, represent the world’s 14th largest economy. The country is home to 120 million people, making it the 12th most populous country in the world. The country is a member of the organisation for economic cooperation and Development (oecD) and the World Trade organisation (WTo), and is one of the eleven emerging powers
of the Group of Twenty (G20).2 However, according to the World Bank, the distribution of wealth in the country remains skewed,
122.3 MILLION IN 2013 (WORLD BANK 2014)
and Mexico’s overwhelming economic and social inequalities undermine its people’s standard of life.3 80 percent of Mexicans live in urban areas, and 50 percent of the population is living in poverty according to national standards.4 The Human Development index of the united nations Development Programme ranks Mexico 71st globally, which is well below other economies of its size in Latin america.5
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION BY AGE
27,9% 0-14Duringmostofthetwentiethcentury,the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)
=10w.0e0a0po.0n0s0in the United States in 2004 marked the beginning of increased violence in Mexico.7 The Mexican government and some civil society representatives believe that the violence is caused primarily by armed confrontations between drug cartels.
18,1% 15-24
“The military response led to more fear and the suppression
of activities in the public space.”
Others emphasise factors related to inequity that has never been addressed by the local or federal authorities. For example, in the case of Ciudad Juárez, an interviewee says, “The city had a
great number of youths with social resentment, without any real education, employment, and development opportunities. For a long time, crime and violence in the city were quite stable, so we did not perceive this factor as a serious threat, but
40,4% 25-54
dominated Mexico’s political landscape, holding
an overwhelming majority in both chambers of the Federal Congress and most of the state
governments. In 1997 the PRI lost its majority 7% 55-64in Congress and in 2000 opposition candidate
6,6% 65+ Vicente Fox, from the National Action Party (PAN), won the presidential election, ending 70
(INDEX MUNDI 2014y)ears of uninterrupted rule by the PRI. Despite the change in the federal government,
many claimed that little was done to address
the myriad of problems afflicting the country,
including corruption, impunity, economic and
social distress, and the increase of organised
crime. Illegal drugs had been produced in Mexico
and then smuggled to the United States as early
as the 1960s. In the 1980s, smugglers in South
America shifted their routes from the Caribbean
GLOBAL PEACE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
to Mexico, a more direct and easier pathway it was.”
to the United States. As the drug cartels grew
INDEX 2014 INDEX 2013
wealthier, they amassed power. Other nongovernmental organisations and 138 71grassroots community members, including many In 2006, President Felipe Calderón (PAN, 2006- interviewed for this publication, suggest that the
2012) announced tough action on the increasing government’s territorial deployment of military
162
187
rates of violent crime. Mexico’s security situation had deteriorated to the point that criminal gangs
forces to combat violent drug cartels, coupled with the weakness and corruption of the security
had assumed de facto territorial control in some
and justice apparatuses, directly contributed to the unprecedented increase in human rights violations, violence and crime. As an interviewee from Nuevo León in northern Mexico said,
areas. However, rather than addressing these
important threats through strengthening the local
(IEP 2014) (UNDP 2014)
or state police and the justice apparatus, Calderón 60 SToRieS of HuMan SecuRiTY | MexiCo
decided to carry out military operations to tackle organised crime and drug trafficking.
insecurity and violence in Mexico
fThe country has since experienced an alarming increase in levels of crime, violence, and impunity. Since 2006 between 47,000 and 70,000 people have been murdered and over 25,000 people have been disappeared.6 There are many different perspectives on the causes of increased violence. According to the International Crisis Group, the end of the legislative ban on high calibre assault