Pena Nieto Calls for Coordinated Effort to Fight Crime EFE
go to original May 5, 2012

Institutional Revolutionary Party presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto takes questions from citizens during an appearance on a CNN en Español program in Mexico City. (EFE)

MEXICO CITY - Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto said during a televised appearance this week that he would "adjust the strategy" for fighting crime in Mexico, forming a "national front" that incorporates all levels of government.

Peña Nieto, the frontrunner in the polls ahead of the July 1 presidential election, took questions from citizens Monday on a CNN en Español program.

Greater coordination is needed among the three levels of government to fight criminal organizations in Mexico, where about 50,000 people have died in drug-related violence since late 2006, Peña Nieto said.

"It would appear that the strategy might be one of every man for himself," the PRI presidential candidate said. "The issue of security cannot be viewed as a competition between the levels of government to see who gets the best results."

The armed forces, Federal Police, state police and municipal police departments are all involved in fighting drug cartels and other organized crime groups in Mexico.

President Felipe Calderon declared war on Mexico's drug cartels within days of taking office on Dec. 1, 2006, deploying the armed forces to fight criminals due to the lack of training of police departments and extensive corruption among officers.

"I propose to adjust the strategy, creating a national front that implies the participation of all levels of government, focusing on one purpose - reducing the violence in the country," Peña Nieto said.

Progress has been made in improving the training of the Federal Police, but more needs to be done in the area of the administration of justice, the presidential candidate said.

To fight organized crime in Mexico, the government must deal with the root causes, such as poverty, which provide "fertile ground for crime to grow," Peña Nieto said, adding that spending on security should be bolstered.

Colombia, for example, spends about 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on security, while, "in Mexico, it does not even reach 1.5 percent" of GDP, the presidential candidate said.

In response to a question about drug legalization, Peña Nieto said he was not convinced that such a move would benefit Mexico, but he said he was open to further discussion of the issue.

Mexico's four presidential candidates will hold their first debate on May 6.

The presidential campaign, which officially started on March 30, ends on June 27, four days before some 80 million Mexicans head to the polls to cast ballots for a new president, 628 legislators and thousands of other officials.

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