Mexico has been a violent country for almost twenty years. Crime increased due to the federal government’s actions in late 2006, when former president Felipe Calderón declared a “war on cartels,” but administrations of every stripe have come and gone since then without the problem ending.
Violence in Mexico is largely explained by the cartels’ criminal activities, since they operate drug trafficking routes but have expanded their activities to migrant smuggling, extortion, and money laundering, among other crimes. The mystery is why the Mexican State has never been powerful enough to defeat them.
In this edition of Mexico Decoded, we’ll discuss the underlying causes of the violence to understand what has made Mexico fertile ground for the growth of criminal groups.
