It seems that some municipalities are governed by criminal organizations. According to the Attorney General's Office, drug cartels control 80 municipalities. However, Mexico has more than 2,500 municipalities and controlling 80 of them is far from controlling the entire country. In spite of this, a qualitative interpretation of these events would suggest that things are just not right in Mexico, especially since cartels are said to behave as a form of a government that collects taxes and provides some public goods. The cartels also profit from the sexual exploitation of persons, according to the report.
It is not surprising to learn that drug cartels present a clear and present danger to Mexican democratic institutions. This was recently declared by Guillermo Valdés, head of Mexican intelligence. Unfortunately, the current fight against drugs has not improved the situation. During the last year, the country has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of drug-related casualties. In addition, the federal government has overexposed the military to a force it was not prepared to fight. This explains the need to minimize the involvement of the armed forces and increase the budget to recruit more regular police forces.
The question is whether the new impulse in the fight against drugs in Mexico will start having an impact before the situation becomes unmanageable and drug cartels control more municipalities in the country.
