Thanks for the morning laugh, amigo.

You deign to lecture me on how to approach “rational” readers but you are not one, which is demonstrated by your clumsily lumping some bogeyman “druglord” apparition in your mind in with any human in Mexico who happens to be killed in FeCal’s insane military blitz and occupation of his own nation. So I’d actually be kind of foolish to allow myself to be guided by your advice. (And nice touch, insulting my regular readers with the implication that a “rational debate” would scare them off!)

But I do appreciate the time you’ve taken so far, or rather, the fact that at least you haven’t dropped a bunch of slurs in your attempt to convince me that Mexico is getting just what it deserves. That’s better than most detractors do when they show up.

Peace bro!

All the best.

http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/220/47241.html

Indeed, countries once self-sufficient have become importers. Under the free trade model, food-processing plants in Watsonville, California, moved to Irapuato Mexico to take advantage of much lower wages and to avoid paying benefits. In turn, Irapuato farmers began to cultivate strawberries and broccoli instead of corn and beans. The people of Irapuato now rely on imports of US corn and beans to satisfy their needs. In other areas of Mexico, farmers could not compete with the super-subsidized US agri-business giants and simply abandoned their land. The drum beat to lift tariffs and subsidies on agriculture in Latin America goes on, while the US government lavishes agri-business with hundreds of billions of dollars.

Well, you are free to believe what you want on the Drug War, Rob. And I have a feeling you’ll still believe it no matter what I tell you, quote, or link. So I won’t waste my time.

Yes, obviously the number of corpses come from different means. But FeCal is still the one who has no idea how to address social problems aside from with bullets, so ultimately, he must take the responsibility, as leaders should. Again, the Drug War model of military force has long been proven counterproductive.

Peace.

I do believe that the Mexican government via Caldarón killed mostly drug lords and their henchmen. Does “16,500 dead” include the drug thugs murdering innocent civilians?

“Are you referring to the fact that we import more than we export to Mexico?”

Mostly I’m referring to the way the USA has manipulated the treaties, and not stuck to the rules. The USA has glutted the market with subsidized corn, has helped destroy the Mexican market and cripple the entire agricultural industry, prompting much migration North, and leaving MX on the losing end of NAFTA. It’s not just NAFTA of course, there are many elements that contribute toward this.

On the last question, you don’t really think that with 16,500 dead most of them were “drug lords,” do you? And I hope its clear to you that it’s not so easy as calling them “drug lords” and thus removing humanity and opening the door to apathy at the corpse count. These are families well-entrenched into society, not stand-apart demons. So even if 1000 of these deaths were stone-cold villains, 15,000 more corpses is hardly worth taking them out.

To any thinking person acquainted with the issues, this simply is not a criminal matter at heart to be resolved by the military. It is a social and economic issue. And the Drug War model is doing now, what it has been proven to do every time: Increase body count, increase drug trafficking, and work contrary to the stated goals of the govt bringing on the violence. Of course, it is also true that the stated purposes of the government are not the actual purposes for this “drug war.”