TWC - Week 13 Discussion

Group presentation Week 13.

Let us discuss about the drug war, something that one of the presentation groups talked about.

Drug wars have been a big problem plaguing Mexico.
What are the factors leading up to this particular problem in Mexico?

1) Money, money, money
Drug trafficking is a big business. The verb "trafficking" increases the price of the drugs by a few times. It is almost as obscene as the word "branding", in my opinion, but this one is worse because it costs lives.

There is a conspiracy theory on how US has waged this war for their own profit. I am extra careful when dealing with conspiracy theories, but sometimes I think it makes more sense than the reason given by officials nowadays.

Trafficking makes the drugs much more valuable, mainly due to its scarcity, while demand is always high.
By making military posts, checkpoints and increasing security at the border, trafficking becomes a lucrative business for the rowdy youth in Mexico.

There is merit in the group's presentation, despite the fact that legalizing such a drug would lead to slippery slope.

But, I plead that people do an official research on this "conspiracy theory".
This question must be asked: How much of the military profit made in US actually came from Mexico (the cartels) purchase of weaponry?

Are the weapon suppliers getting their "cargo" from US or other countries?

Efficiency of checkpoints in preventing the influx of drugs.
If it is not efficient, then I see no reason why you should keep doing it. There must be a change and reassessment of what the real problem is.

2) Lack of government power
Why is it that the government not deal with this problem with their military and intelligence might? I don't the cartels' operations are that clandestine. It should be easy to identify them and identify the root of the problem.
However, this might have an adverse effect as explained in 1). Therefore, government should at least try the soft approach.

3) Lack of choice
The poor people in Mexico rely on growing the "drugs" as their main income. This is the part which technology can help, by empowering this people with information and other expertise to deal with problems.


It is a topic which deserve more attentions nowadays.