MEXICO A FAILED STATE?

Not quite. Rumors of its death are a little premature.

Admittedly, Their oil revenues from the Cantrell field are diminishing as the reservoir is undergoing rapid decline,and the government was frustrated with trying to vanquish the drug cartel. After all the druggies were able to pay their 'soldiers'

dramatically more than the government troops, so mass desertions were plaguing the army.

The government failed to exert control over the Northern part of the country, particularly the areas and cities bordering the USA and the decisions made by the government against the cartels were and are not being implemented in ways that will guarantee success.

Despite these handicaps, Mexico's ruling group has developed strategies

designed to ride out the handicaps and maximize the benefits of the situations.

Even though the cartel is winning in the North, they do not have the upper hand in other areas of the country, where the vast majority of the population resides.

Drugs are a problem for all societies, but for Mexico they help to stabilize a

country which in many ways is still a 3rd world state. Drugs are a low cost,

easy to grow agricultural product and Mexico shares a long border with a major consumer of the illicit products, i.e. the USA, which facilitates smuggling

operations. Tremendous profits reward this activity, since the products are illegal, the 'prohibition' prices prevail. Estimates are that $35 to $40 Billion

flow into Mexico fro this illicit source.

With such a lucrative profit source, competion among the suppliers and transporters is a natural consequence, and as in the prohibition of liquor in this country, gangs and violence follow.

The money does not completely flow into the hands of the holders of the guns and knives in the border towns. The money is washed through banks and legitimate institutions, then redeployed to the general commerce and economy.

The government (Mexico City) tries to show it is trying to control this traffic, so as not to be accused of abetting, but in fact would be a foolish government to choke off this source of income.

Speaking of foolish governments, the USA's "War on Drugs" is an enormous failure,it is not preventing the flow and use of drugs, but in both cases, the fight was lost before it began. Even our own CIA is involved in the drug trade, presumably using the profits (which are not syphoned off by the banks) to further their subversive goals in foreign countries.

As usual with government programs the U.S. has it wrong. Choking off the supply and making the importation of drugs illegal just makes the enterprise extremely profitable. Drugs need to be legalized and controlled by the states as is liquor to take the profitability out of smuggling an sale.

With Love and Kindness,

THE HATMAN