Narcobloqueos, May 1, 2015 roadblocks

CanuckBob wrote:Here is a Canadian report of what went down yesterday.

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/crime/7-killed-among-violence-in-jalisco-mexico/ar-BBj2J89

One of the comments was about the incompetence of the Mexican military.

It's the best thing this  country has going for it when it comes to law enforcement.

shana wrote:According to Mexican friends of mine in Guadalajara there have been many kidnappings in Guadalajara.  You don't hear about them but my friends know two of the victims, who, happily were returned to their family.

"there have been many kidnappings but you don't hear about them" seems a little oxymoronic.  
I guess it requires a definition of "you", as opposed to somebody who knows more than "you".

Fair warning to all readers I am about to go on a rant. Spencer is right in saying that legalization will only lead to increased violence through extortion, kidnapping etc. But that increase is only a short term reaction. That sort of violence is governed by the laws of diminishing returns. With less profits to be made and an increased presence of rule of law, fewer people will enter the game. Victory through attrition. 

Legalization of drugs will be inevitable if the intense public demand remains. History has already shown us that laws that go against massive public demand are eventually rescinded. Does anyone remember why Prohibition was first implemented then rescinded? When it was illegal for women or people of color to vote? How about the child labor laws? These are only a few examples where popular demand served to change the laws of a country. The same will happen with drugs if the current course is maintained.

While de-popularization of recreational drug use may be an ideal for some, I doubt that will happen in the real world we live in. In the meantime, while we wait for either legalization or de-popularization, those who do recreational drugs will have to wrestle their own conscience's when faced with events like yesterdays, and the reality of the violence the drug supply business entails. After working 20 years in the Sierras of Mexico, I could tell you eye witness stories about the effects of the drug trade on the local populations that would curl your toe hairs. It is not pretty. The formerly popular argument that recreational drugs do not cause harm is thoroughly refuted by the violence we have seen in Mexico. Don't get me wrong, this is not a rant against recreational drug use, provided that drug use is certified violence free. I will admit I am constantly amazed how many people have accepted that it is wrong to buy a blood diamond, but do not extend that morality to include blood dope.

So what is the solution? The final solution will probably be multi-tiered and generational in its implementation, but I suspect it begins with the collective question; "what are we are willing to do to help"? (ahem, dare I quote..."ask not what your country can do for you, ask instead what you can do for your country?).

File this wherever you think appropriate, but some suggestions that I think might contribute to the decline of violence and corruption include:

- Avoid buying anything on the black market (stolen or pirated goods).

- Follow rule of law in all your personal or business dealings. No bribes (mordida's), if caught speeding (for example), man up and pay the ticket, don't pay the officer handing it to you. Immitate the Russians meantime and keep a video and voice recorder in your car.

- Remember that a properly executed and registered contract is a guarantee and a protection for both parties. This includes the hiring of local "help".

- Asking for an official invoice (Factura Fiscal) accomplishes much more than a simple proof of purchase. In Mexico in the absence of a legal contract, a official fiscal factura that uses the RFC (tax number) of both parties is the only accepted document for legal recourse and the only proof the people you are dealing with are legitimate. There is a reason why it is a illegal to be denied a factura in Mexico, just one of those reasons is tax evasion. Use them to your advantage.

- This one will cause a revolution in comments but, paying your taxes will actually help on so many levels, just one is by providing the government with financial means for the services so many of us seem to be clamoring for, such as improved civil services (drivers license anyone?), educational programs, job training, improved salaries etc -not to mention that by paying taxes you will gain the moral advantage when complaining about your government.

- Anyone who is actively going out of their way to avoid paying taxes are by default helping to feed the informal economy whose immense size plays a leading role in keeping Mexico's population poor and trapped in a corrupt system without recourse to due process. I am not sure I want to be a part of that slice of historical pie.

- It goes without saying that the onus is on the citizen to elect and to hold their elected officials accountable to how their tax dollars are spent. Accountability is a word that is only just beginning to enter the common language here.  Twenty years ago, the word didn't even exist.

-The concept that a failure to act when faced with injustice is as equally criminal as the actions of those causing the injustice is one concept that needs to be understood and adopted. An example of what I mean by this: there is a law on the books in Canada that will hold you legally and criminally responsible for failing to report a case of child abuse if it can be shown you were aware of it but failed to do anything about it. People have gone to jail over it in Canada.

- Regardless of how futile you think it is, if you see or experience a crime, report it to the relevant authority and make sure they fill out the paperwork and give you a copy for your records. It may not have much effect at first, but if everyone were to do this, the mounting pressure will force an official response. Notice how the LCS now has an official representative available for filing of criminal complaints? This came to pass after the local hoopla over local violence, house thefts and murders from a few years ago that forced a police and government response. I think it only took a couple of gatherings of the local expat population in front of government offices to generate that response. Persistence and loud noise pays off.

Remember the history of the Chicago Mob? The US government never was able to convict Al Capone on any crime, but they did finally succeed in jailing him on tax evasion. Imagine that? Its a complicated world we live in, so it helps to make creative use of the tools that are at our disposal, and right now the rule of law is our best tool. I for one think the governments current focus on going after tax evaders of all sorts is brilliant. This is a net that will catch a lot of corruption. I am not naive, I am sure this rant will get all kinds of negative responses. Nor do I expect anyone will pay any attention to what I have written here. Nevertheless, if we want to see an end to the kind of organized violence we saw yesterday, each one of us is responsible for starting somewhere. Corruption doesn't stop with us, it starts with us.

I will close with a little childhood rhyme I learned that is still relevant today:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for want of the horse the soldier was lost, for want of the soldier the battle was lost, for want of the battle the war was lost, and that is how the Country was lost, all for the want of a nail.....

According to first hand report, there was a operation in the Villa Purificacion area aimed at capturing "el mencho". That is where the helicopter was forced down. According to a soldier that participated they was a very large mobilization of troops and federal police in the area. The blockades and other mayhem were ordered to distract government resources from possible participation.

The governor of Jalisco ordered his staff and other essential personnel from leaving the Guadalajara area during the weekend starting Friday. So it appears the government knew something was in the air. Whether it was an attempt at capturing the cartel head or the cartel was planning to disrupt normal daily activity is yet to be determined.

I was in Tonala today and there was nothing unusual to report along the way other than they fixed all the potholes at the bottom of the mountain through Ixthulacan.

One more comment as I just read Windrivers article and there seems to be some confusion if the War on Drugs is a "real" war or not. I thought I would be able to clarify this. When Calderon originally declared his "war on drugs", the term was not used casually for the media, it was a Formal Declaration of War that has given the government broad sweeping legal powers that includes the suspension of certain human rights and other laws necessary to achieve their ends. Similar perhaps to Canada's war measures act. So make no mistake, this is war. Of course there will be both collateral damages and benefits. That is inherent in the very act of war.

Background
The War Measures Act was a Canadian statute adopted on August 4, 1914. It gave the federal government emergency powers to govern by decree under circumstances of “war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended”. It was considerably watered down after P.E. Trudeau used it for the FLQ crisis, and superseded by the Emergencies Act in 1988.

In Puerto Vallarta today Saturday they aree burning vehicles and businesses, it may not be over

IMHO, the root for a lot of this nastyness is a part of the culture in Mexico, and in many similar countries. Many Mexicans seem to have a 'screw the other guy before the other guy screws you' mentality. They are always polite and accomodating, but then do whatever serves their interest best. All this is because of a lack of respect and justice in Mexican society. The rich don't respect the poor, which they see as uncultured peasants. The poor don't respect the rich, whom they view as tyrants that they despise and fear. So, it's some ways it's closer to feudal society than a true democracy. You can see the government is trying, in many ways to install the structures of a democratic state, but the people that manage those institutions will too often put their own interests first.

But that's just my .02's worth.

Pete

peteben wrote:IMHO, the root for a lot of this nastyness is a part of the culture in Mexico, and in many similar countries. Many Mexicans seem to have a 'screw the other guy before the other guy screws you' mentality. They are always polite and accomodating, but then do whatever serves their interest best. All this is because of a lack of respect and justice in Mexican society. The rich don't respect the poor, which they see as uncultured peasants. The poor don't respect the rich, whom they view as tyrants that they despise and fear. So, it's some ways it's closer to feudal society than a true democracy. You can see the government is trying, in many ways to install the structures of a democratic state, but the people that manage those institutions will too often put their own interests first.

But that's just my .02's worth.

Pete

Hmmm. I think I could easily say the same about the USA. Wall Street just about destroyed the economy of the planet in serving their own interests with no regard to the common good. I would also argue that Dick Cheney caused more unnecessary death than any cartel boss ever did. Not that one country's sins excuses the other's, of course.

Strange about the links disappearing. I haven't watched the news today...I guess there haven't been any clips of El Mencho flanked by masked , armed poli on TV? Somebody's got some 'splainin to do if we don't see the usual line up on the news real soon.

They never caught him, Ms. Thang...he escaped. Here's an update from Reforma...

Incendian a Jalisco y se escapa ‘El Mencho’
http://www.elmanana.com/incendianajaliscoyseescapaelmencho-2876993.html

And the beat goes on.

Gosh, they didn't even mention he escaped under pretty much the same circumstances in 2012.

China had to close their opium dens and declare drugs illegal a long time ago. Why?

hogline wrote:China had to close their opium dens and declare drugs illegal a long time ago.  Why?

Three fourths of the inhabitants (white) in the US colonies prior to the revolution were hooked on opium. All of the founding fathers partook. Wars were fought between world powers to control the opium trade. And all of a sudden in the early 20th century, these uptight white dudes said it is bad for you. Why?

Because it probably is. Most governments don't want a populace of stoners and drug addicts. The alcoholic's are bad enough....jaja. While I don't give a shit whether drugs are legalized or not I do believe that legalizing all of them (IE cocaine & heroin) would encourage youth to get into things they might otherwise not.

Alcohol is the most dangerous drug.

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20101101/alcohol-more-harmful-than-crack-or-heroin

Totally agree but why add fuel to the fire with drugs such as cocaine, heroin, meth, etc.

Legalizing marijuana is a no brainer but they need to draw the line somewhere. No?

A Mexican friend of mine who moved to San Antonio out of fear for his life here, once told me he did not understand the US War on Drugs policy other than to say it employed a lot of people and thus was good for the economy. That is what Americans do best he said, 'make money'. He thinks the US govt is supportive of drug use since it keeps the people distracted and thus the corrupt politicos can advance their own agendas unimpeded. Interesting perspective. Probably the only political interest of the US War on Drugs comes from the biggest lobbyists there, corporate giants like Lilly, Pfizer, Merck, Abbot etc who don't want the competition.

CanuckBob wrote:Totally agree but why add fuel to the fire with drugs such as cocaine, heroin, meth, etc.

Legalizing marijuana is a no brainer but they need to draw the line somewhere. No?

Admittedly there's no telling what would happen in the USA if they legalized ALL recreational drugs, but look at what did happen when they did it in Portugal:

http://www.alternet.org/story/151635/ten_years_ago_portugal_legalized_all_drugs_--_what_happened_next

So far, not so good for "Operacion Jalisco"...and the search for El Mencho. But who is this guy? From Televisa...

¿Quién es El Mencho?
http://noticieros.televisa.com/mexico/1505/quien-es-mencho/

First on a technical point, everyone talks about "legalizing" drugs; the correct term is "decriminalizing" drugs since everything on this planet is legal unless made criminal by some controlling authority.

So much for semantics, now to my real point.

Here is a Q for everyone: If all drugs were decriminalized tomorrow, would "you" start doing drugs you don't do today? Would you start snorting coke, or smoking crack?

I'm going to guess the answer is, "Probably not."

And the fact is that almost every drug you can think of is readily available today on many street corners, with the chance of being caught being slim to none.

Decriminalization of (most) drugs used recreationally would free up police, courts and prison/jail cells for rapists, child molesters, armed robbers, etc. IMO, that's more important than someone who wants to smoke or shoot dope in their home or at a party of like-minded persons.

Back to the drawing board.

Carpe Diem

Clueless wrote:First on a technical point, everyone talks about "legalizing" drugs; the correct term is "decriminalizing" drugs since everything on this planet is legal unless made criminal by some controlling authority.

So much for semantics, now to my real point.

Here is a Q for everyone: If all drugs were decriminalized tomorrow, would "you"  start doing drugs you don't do today? Would you start snorting coke, or smoking crack?

I'm going to guess the answer is, "Probably not."

And the fact is that almost every drug you can think of is readily available today on many street corners, with the chance of being caught being slim to none.

Decriminalization of (most) drugs used recreationally would free up police, courts and prison/jail cells for rapists, child molesters, armed robbers, etc. IMO, that's more important than someone who wants to smoke or shoot dope in their home or at a party of like-minded persons.

Back to the drawing board.

Carpe Diem

Probably not, but if I was 18 to 25 years of age, I probably would if there were no legal consequences.

In the big cities of the U.S., anyone of any age could always get their drug of choice. Give the kids some credit. Some will try anything, regardless of consequences; some won't, since they already have some good sense.
Some will drink until they are unconscious; until they are a danger to themselves and others. Some wouldn't even consider taking things to that extreme.
Portugal tried de-criminalizing all drugs years ago, and guess what? Drug use is down.
Another point: if broccoli were made illegal, some people would suddenly want some, just for that reason.

Imagine if people could walk in to a 7/11,OXXO,etc and buy crack, heroin and meth.
Anyone familiar with the addictive qualities of those drugs and the devastation they cause would probably agree that it would be a bad idea.
But it's a moot point because it's not going to happen.

viajero wrote:Imagine if people could walk in to a 7/11,OXXO,etc and buy crack, heroin  and meth.
Anyone familiar with the addictive qualities of those drugs and the devastation they cause would probably agree that it would be a bad idea.
But it's a moot point because it's not going to happen.

I agree it's not going to happen, but as has been mentioned before, Portugal had great success with decriminalizing all drugs. This is not hypothetical. They did it, and it worked out better than they expected.

A total breakdown of civilization was predicted with the outlawing of alcohol, but I can't see that this has happened. Some abuse it, of course, and they did when it was illegal, but when it was illegal, bad guys got rich off of it. And desperate people drank dangerous home-distilled drinks because they simply weren't going to go without it.

And what about cigarettes? Nicotine is insanely addictive, smoking is lethal, and you can get cigarettes easily. Yet use has gone way down in the past decade. So legality and availability don't automatically mean high use.

The vast majority of people deal quite well with the fact that they can buy whiskey in a 7/11 or Oxxo and I have a feeling it would be the same with drugs.