Violence and Insecurity in Mexico: Guidelines for a New Strategy on Public Safety

In: Latin American policy: LAP ; a journal of politics & governance in a changing region, Band 4, Heft 2, S. 285-305

Abstract

Mexico's public safety strategies have had serious flaws that may explain their limited success and that have led to an increase in violence and insecurity. The flaws in the Calderón administration resided in building a strategy with certain characteristics. It was based on the war against drug trafficking and not on building an integral plan for public safety. It had serious interinstitutional coordination problems. It was based on police action rather than on a plan where the politicians engaged in dialogue with the proponents of security policies. It was built from the top down, from the federal to the city level, where communities had little or no participation and where there was no coordination between city and state efforts and those at the federal level. It integrated the military into the public safety realm without taking into account the effects and consequences. It was unable to articulate efficiently efforts with foreign powers. Instead of noting ways to fight insecurity, this article concentrates on the conditions needed to create safety systems. We have created a model that considers 11 variables that lead to a propensity for violence and insecurity. Based on these variables, we arrive at some important conclusions for reformulating the national strategy for public safety.