'The Politics of Crime in Mexico: Democratic Governance in a Security Trap' - John Bailey Gerardo Rodriguez Sanchez Lara - Animal Politico
go to original April 28, 2014

The Politics of Crime in Mexico: Democratic Governance in a Security Trap by John Bailey Check it out on Amazon.com

During his latest visit to Mexico, John Bailey, Emeritus Professor at Georgetown University, presented his latest book, The Politics of Crime in Mexico: Democratic Governance in a Security Trap. Written by the most important Mexico expert in the United States, this bold work incorporates fundamental factors behind development of an environment of insecurity, impunity and growth of criminal organizations in our country.

In his book, John Bailey briefly describes the violent context in which Mexico finds itself; namely, the country's violent events and public security crisis. However, he traces historically how a "security trap" originates, and how this occurrence has been seen in various places in Latin America. He believes that our country faces three problems that are, in large measure, factors that in combination result in a profound insecurity:

• Lack of a social contract;
• Slow reform of the justice system and the police; and finally the
• Disconnect between political parties and the electoral system.

In this work, Bailey addresses the issue of political institutions that fail to enforce the law and hence lack legitimacy. These factors are very important because a State that cannot meet the basic needs and demands of the population often faces problems of civic disobedience that can be transformed into rebellion or, in the worst case, into criminal acts.

Read the rest at Mexico Voices

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