ENRIQUE KRAUZE, Mexican historian, author, and director of the cultural magazine Letras Libres
Idea: Rx for Mexico's drug wars
When Mexican President Felipe Calderón assumed office in 2006, one of his first acts was to dispatch the military to battle organized crime. Since then, brutality has exploded, with some 30,000 people killed in the nation's drug wars.
Some call it unparalleled violence and reflect on a hopeless time in Mexico's history, 200 years after its independence and 100 years after the Mexican Revolution.
But Mr. Krauze says that while the problem will not be solved next year, Mexico must now wake up to desperately needed reforms to steer the country in a new direction.
"I believe that the seriousness of the situation is going to make the country, for the first time since the 19th century, realize the necessity to create a judicial structure and culture that respects laws," he says. "Mexico is a stoic, deep, and resilient country.... But this period is the most difficult since the revolution. I believe that the legalization of drugs, in particular marijuana, would be desirable. But we cannot trick ourselves: In Mexico, the 'war' will be long."
He adds: "We need many different actions, gradual and coordinated: cut off financial flows [of cartel proceeds], improve and make more secure the troubled jails, reform the judicial system, run campaigns against drug use, improve education, and start from almost zero the creation of a police force. This will all take a generation, at least."
