Escalating drug war grips Mexico

President Calderón's popularity has soared as he takes on the increasingly brutal drug cartels.

By Sara Miller Llana | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
and

from the May 23, 2007 edition

Page 1 of 3

Mexico City - Faced with assassinations of top police officials, death tolls at historic highs, and beheadings in the most innocuous public spaces, Mexico's President Felipe Calderón sent an unprecedented 30,000 troops and police across the country to tackle drug-related violence after taking office in December.

But nearly six months later the terror has only gotten worse, as drug cartels battle for smuggling routes into the US. Officials are now even comparing the violence to the drug wars that plagued Colombia for more than a decade.

More than 1,000 people have been killed this year alone in drug-related violence, according to the Mexican newspaper El Universal. Reporters have "disappeared," innocent bystanders have died, the US has issued travel warnings, and locals whisper about the worst violence they've ever seen.

Yet Mr. Calderón's popularity has also doubled, with two-thirds of Mexicans now approving of his presidency. It is not necessarily because they believe he is solving the problem of insecurity, however. For most Mexicans, analysts say, taking bold action – even if initially unsuccessful – is better than none at all.

"The worst feeling someone can have, when you see a problem, is no one doing anything. At least Calderón is doing something," says Jorge Chabat, a drug expert in Mexico City.

Yet many say Calderón's deployment of troops could risk sparking more violence and wonder how long Mexicans will be patient before there is a backlash.

A survey in March by the polling firm Parametria showed that 85 percent of those surveyed believe that government moves to control drug-related violence will lead to more violence. And more people have lost faith that authorities can control the situation – 50 percent in March, up from 44 percent in January of 2005.

"Every time I open the paper I feel fed up," says Carlos López, a Mexico City resident who approved of the operations at first but now says they will only worsen the situation. "It seems like the police can't do anything about it."

Some politicians have even called for troops to be deployed to Mexico City in the same fashion that some 30,000 have spread out around Michoacán, Acapulco, and along the US-Mexican border.

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | Next Page