Page 62 - Empowerment and Protection - Stories of Human Security

MEXICO
Perspectives on citizen security in Mexico
POPULATION
The diverse views shared in the making of this article demonstrate that violence, crime, and fear have become part of the Mexican context. Human rights defenders recount how the situation has restricted freedoms, broken social relationships, and damaged public confidence in governing institutions.
when President Felipe Calderón decided to carry out an aggressive, militarised strategy to contain rising crime rates that violence and insecurity really began increasing exponentially in 2006 and 2007. Calderón and his cabinet chose the use of force over a preventive approach. They saw the corruption, ineffectiveness, and neglect of law
”Violence is now
fffffffffffff122.3 MILLION IN 2013 (WORLD BANK 2014)
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION BY AGE
40,4% 25-54
7% 55-64
6,6% 65+
(INDEX MUNDI 2014)
GLOBAL PEACE INDEX 2014
THe HuMan RiGHTS DefenDeR Paulina vega
Paulina vega is a human rights attorney and vice President of the international federation for Human Rights (fiDH). She reflects on the rise of violence in Mexico in the past 15 years.
An interviewee from La Paz in the state of Baja California Sur says that even in his city, where the crime rate is below the national average, “citizen panic has created an ‘exodus’ from
coming not only from criminals, but also from the people and institutions in charge of maintaining order.“
enforcement institutions at the municipal and state levels and decided to rely on the army and navy to go after the criminals. But no real effort was made to address the structural causes of such deficiencies.
I believe that the government’s aggressive strategy caused the criminal organisations to respond in the same way. Also, at least in the beginning,
the capture of some criminal leaders generated tensions inside the cartels, and many ‘second-level’ leaders started fighting each other to get control of the organisations.
The impact of violence
Violence is now coming not only from criminals, but
also from the people and institutions in charge of
maintaining order: the police, the army, and the navy.
One of the main consequences of this shift has been
the streets.” Common criminal offenses are frequent, and organised criminal groups and gangs have established strong territorial control. In several communities they function as a ‘parallel government’, as they demand money in exchange for protection and exercise ‘justice’ on those
=10.000.000
who do not obey their laws. The authorities have been known to allow this, in many cases being complicit. A young Mexican woman described
27,9% 0-14thisphenomenon:“Theyhavepermissiontoact with complete impunity [...] I feel as if I have
18,1% 15-24
my hands tied, there are too many economic interests.”
162
187
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
INDEX 2013
rights, specifically torture, enforced disappearances,
and extrajudicial killings. There has also been an 138 71increase in the use of some legal strategies that
The rise of violence in Mexico I would say are incompatible with human rights Violence and crime started to rise during Vicente standards, like arraigo (pre-charge detention). All
Fox’s presidency. This happened because criminal organisations, especially in western Mexico and
this was bound to happen because army and navy personnel are not trained to carry out public security
on the border with the United States, saw power
duties, let alone human security strategies.
vacuums that they could fill. The ineffectiveness of
Apart from the human rights violations, there was a very aggressive communication strategy from the
the Fox government was the breeding ground for
(IEP 2014) (UNDP 2014)
criminal groups to emerge and flourish. But it was 62 SToRieS of HuMan SecuRiTY | MexiCo
an alarming increase in grave violations of human