Can Action on Crime Replace Despair in Mexico?

As the Americanization of Mexico proceeds inexorably (Mexicans not only continue to drive Fords as they did in 1950 but now do lunch at McDonald’s), some abysmal cultural differences between the two countries remain intact. Consider, for example, the national reactions to recent acts of violence.

In Mexico, within minutes of the assassination of popular TV host Francisco “Paco” Stanley in early June, there was an outcry against the seeming lawlessness in that nation. Given the recent spate of crimes there, the question on everybody’s mind is whether Mexico--where I was born and lived for half my life--can even abide by the rule of law.

The debate is entirely different from what follows a shocking crime in the United States. After the massacre in Littleton, Colo., people focused on what they could do to change the law so that it wouldn’t happen again. More gun control? Better security in schools? Reduce violence in entertainment? In Mexico, the reaction is more one of despair than action. The difference has to do with the power (or lack thereof) of the Mexican people to engage in a meaningful debate on how to effect change, and in the people’s lack of faith in the upholding of laws.

I often have been asked why most Mexicans buckle their seat belts and obey other traffic laws when they drive in the United States but not when they drive in Mexico. And I frequently wonder why otherwise responsible U.S. citizens feel they can behave boorishly while vacationing in Mexican resort cities like Cancun. The answer lies at least partly on how laws are enforced in the two countries. Everyone knows that breaking the law in the U.S. has consequences.

In the U.S., after the Columbine shooting, Americans wonder how could young people obtain such powerful weapons, since it is illegal for them to purchase them. In Mexico, Stanley’s killing took a bizarre turn almost as soon as the news of the shooting became known. Public opinion, manipulated by incendiary commentary from both Mexican television networks, turned a TV host, who was mediocre at best, into a larger-than-life hero. His assassination paralyzed a city of almost 20 million people.

One after another, television news anchors, commentators and even soap opera actors and the owner of one network, expressed their indignation over the airwaves. Many vehemently demanded the resignation of the city’s already-controversial mayor, Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, and his public safety staff.

Obviously, the average resident of Mexico City is not at risk from what looks like a professional hit on Stanley--preliminary results of an investigation indicate that he may have been linked to the illegal drug trade, an always-risky business. But average Mexicans endure armed robberies, kidnappings and carjackings daily.

Fed up with the soaring crime rate in their capital, many Mexicans see Stanley’s murder as a symbol of the deterioration of the quality of life and react to it viscerally. Average citizens know the city is not safe and that, across the nation, criminals operate with almost total impunity. In 1998, of the 1.1 million crimes that were reported, fewer than a quarter were even investigated. And of every 100 cases investigated, no more than four ended in a criminal conviction.

The average Mexican citizen assumes that the reason the war on crime is being lost is the pervasive corruption that suffocates the judiciary system. It starts with a cop who partners with criminals in exchange for a cut of their take and proceeds to prosecutors who are unprepared, underpaid and too often tempted by bribes. It ends with judges who in many instances are inept political hacks and often also subject to persuasion.

Sadly, violent incidents like Littleton will continue to happen in the United States, but the search for solutions will not stop. Just as sadly, criminal violence will continue in Mexico, too. But the search for real solutions cannot begin until the Mexican people have real political power in their hands--power by which they can rein in pervasive corruption by voting venal or incompetent officials out of office. Only then can my compatriots in Mexico--from peasants in the countryside to the well-to-do residents of Mexico City--feel that they can live their lives in safety and simple dignity.