We've Got Our Guns Back, We Promise!

After the semi-succesful meeting between President Obama and President Calderon, Obama stood behind the fact that the United States had successfully "recovered" 90% of the assault weapons that had crossed the Texas-Mexico border, helping to quell the violence and shows the United States dedication to helping it's southern neighbour; however, the 90% is only out of firearms registered with the United States. The true percentage is about 18%.

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A Laundry List of Problems

At last, someone has truly outlined issues in Mexican security and equity, and presented them in a sort of open letter to President Obama.

The article outlines various issues that threaten the welfare of the state of Mexico, including:
- Corrupt court officials that prohibit drug kingpins from being jailed
- No media safety net, as many journalists are taken hostage and/or killed

The article continues on to divide the blame between the United States and President Calderon; the former because of the un-renewed ban on assault weapons and high demand for mexican drugs, and the latter because of his inability to reach out to his "left" allies for help in the time of the country's greatest need.

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Obama Lays the Smack Down

"Stop, in the Name of the Border Security"

Obama has officially decided that the Mexican violence gotten too far out of hand, and is now spilling over into the United States at an alarming rate.

Unsurprisingly, he advocated a "reduction of demand for illegal drugs" and a restriction of arms sales near the border, to curtail violent outbreaks and gang organization.

He reminds the US that the violence is a "two way street", referencing the bi-directionality of the border and not-so-subtly warns us that the violence is just a matter of crossing over a line on a map; there is no invisible wall that separates Us from Them, the only division is our ideological feeling of security that threatens our very tangible, atrophying physical security.

"President Barack Obama says the violence spilling over from Mexico's fight against drug cartels has gotten out of hand and is a serious threat to U.S. border communities."

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Obama Goes Where You Shouldn't

"President Barack Obama's scheduled visit to Mexico in April will be an opportunity to align the priorities of the two countries with the interests of the new U.S. administration and to smooth over a number of problematic areas."

The list of problems is stacked high for Mexico: infrastructure-threatening drug wars, unstable state government, the looming economic recession, and poor public image. The United States, enter stage right. President Obama is planning a diplomatic trip to Mexico to talk to Mexican President Calderon to cover the aforementioned issues. In addition, Obama is going to hold a conference to discuss the "threat" of immigration, and the recently instated 20% tariff against the United States.

This meeting is a good example of the importance of 'good neighbours' in government policy; the Obama/Calderon meeting is not hostile, but rather seeking resolve on key issues in public policy.

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Turns Out, People Don't Want to Die

The recently blogged about decision of the United States travel agencies to declare the majority of Mexico a "Go at your own risk" location, Mexico's tourist industry is bracing for the worst. As simple as this seems, the economic challenges that Mexico faces right now can only be exacerbated by foreign (negative) speculation, especially for key markets like tourism.

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All signs point to the United States

It appears the drug wars in Mexico, and their violent nature, could hold root in the United States. With the United States' large demand for drugs from our Southern Neighbour, and the fact that they are considered crimes instead of public health problems, this creates a large "underground" trading networks which are the infrastructure of the modern cartel. In addition, the increasing use of Assault Weapons imported from the United States is a direct result of Congress not renewing a ban on the same weapons. It is interesting to see how various public policy choices of nations decide the fate of those around them.

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