SJS 8 - Mexico in the Grip of Violence

Source - Magaloni, Beatriz, and Zaira Razu. “Mexico in the Grip of Violence.” Current History, vol. 115, no. 778, Feb. 2016, p. 57, www.currenthistory.com/Article.php?ID=1301. Accessed 14 Jan. 2017.
Author Credentials - Beatriz Magaloni is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Senior Fellow at Stanford University. She also founded the Program on Poverty and Governance at Stanford. She focuses her research on democratization and dynamics of protest.
Zaira Razu is a research Associate and Project Manager at the Program on Poverty and Governance at Stanford. She also works with interventions that seek to reduce youth violence in Mexico and the U.S.

Summary - Mexico has made many progressive policies that have positively affected the state, but despite these policies Mexico has also experienced a huge human crisis over the 21st century. Mexico transitioned to a legitimate democracy in 2000, but even with this change, those who are no elites in Mexico are still lacking basic rights such as due process of law. There is little security in Mexico, especially for the poor, and when Felipe Calderón became President in 2006, he completely ignored this and focused policies on fighting drug cartels. Although effective in killing or imprisoning leaders, he brought violence to many towns and cities in Mexico. His troops also worked with some drug lords. Peasants leaders and activists in poor communities were going to jail for nothing, simply because the elites controlled the police and the court system. In 2012 Peña Nieto took office and differed from Calderón in that he focused on reform in education, fiscal, and energy policies. He also wanted to keep violence out of the spotlight. During Nieto's presidency two major crises occurred. First,  there was a rise in self-defense groups in communities where police forces were minimal. This showed the lack of ability for the state to defend its people. The second crisis was the disappearance of 43 college students. The truth was finally discovered that local police kidnapped them and delivered them to a criminal gang where the students were murdered. In conclusion, although Mexico has made many steps forward, it is also in the middle of a human crisis.

Analysis - The authors did a very good job of delivering the message to the reader, and to emphasize how Mexico has struggled to keep peace in the 21st century. The authors add some opinion in the journal, but always back it up with facts and statistics. They provide the readers with enough facts to help them to come to their own conclusions and overall I think that this source is reliable.

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