Tag: drugs

The Global War At Our Doorstep

By Joseph Orosco (May 10, 2017)

A new report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies claims that Mexico is the second largest conflict zone behind Syria in 2016.  Some 50,000 people died in the Syrian conflict in 2016.  In Mexico, some 23,000 people were killed in one year as a result of drug cartel violence (that’s more than the conflicts deaths recorded in both Iraq and Afghanistan combined)  Its estimated that between 2007 and 2014, some 167,000 people died as a result of the Mexican drug wars.

Of course, the cartel violence is a transnational problem since most of the drug consumption happens in the United States.  The estimates are that almost half of all federally incarcerated prisoners are there as a result of the US war on drugs–that would be about 1.5 million people.  You can see the skyrocketing rates of incarceration since the US began target drugs in the 1970s:

prision

It’s clear that when you look at the war on drugs from a transnational perspective, we are looking at a staggering waste of human life and potential.

 

The Drug War: A Brilliant Strategy to Divide People Along Racial Lines When All Boats are Sinking

 

By Mark Naison (October 29, 2015)

During the last thirty years, working class incomes in the US have fallen sharply. The vast majority of income gains in the US during those years have accrued to people in the top 20 percent of earners and in the last ten years to people in the top 1 percent. The once proud US industrial economy has become a shadow of itself. Continue reading “The Drug War: A Brilliant Strategy to Divide People Along Racial Lines When All Boats are Sinking”

Blood Avocados, Drug Cartels, and the Crisis of Democracy in Mexico

The majority of avocados in the US come from one single state in Mexico:  Michoacan.  In recent years, drug cartels have started to terrorize the avocado producers there, murdering them, stealing farms, and exacting protection money from the ones that remain. Many farmers have now formed armed vigilante groups, called autodefensas, that have begun to fight back against the cartels.  Last month, the Mexican government sent in the military to avoid an all out civil war.

Professor Joseph Orosco reviews the history and evolution of the current situation followed by Professor Victor Vargas, professor of international relations, and vice president of Academic Affairs, at the Universidad Latin de America in Morelia, Michoacan.  Vargas discusses what this situation means for democracy in Mexico and the impact that it has on the US, including American consumers and the legacy of the “War on Drugs”.

Continue reading “Blood Avocados, Drug Cartels, and the Crisis of Democracy in Mexico”

Blood Avocados, Drug Cartels, and the Crisis of Democracy in Mexico

The majority of avocados in the US come from one single state in Mexico: Michoacan. In recent years, drug cartels have started to terrorize the avocado producers there, murdering them, stealing farms, and exacting protection money from the ones that remain. Many farmers have now formed armed vigilante groups, called autodefensas, that have begun to fight back against the cartels. Last month, the Mexican government sent in the military to avoid an all out civil war.

On February 25th, Joseph Orosco will lead us through the development of our current situation.   We will then be joined by Professor Victor Vargas, a professor of international relations, and vice president of Academic Affairs, at the Universidad Latin de America in Morelia, Michoacan.   He will discuss, via Skype, what this situation means for democracy in Mexico and the impact that it has on the US, including American consumers and the legacy of the “War on Drugs”.   There will be time for questions and dialogue.