Nik Steinberg: End Mexico's Disastrous 'War on Drugs' Once and for All Nik Steinberg - FT.com
go to original December 3, 2013

A figurine of former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari is seen during a march against Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto on the anniversary of his first year in power and his government's proposed energy reforms, in Mexico City December 1, 2013. The Metropolitan Cathedral is pictured in the background. (Reuters/Edgard Garrido)

When President Enrique Peña Nieto took office in Mexico a year ago, he promised a new approach to the country’s drug cartels. His predecessor, Felipe Calderón, had declared a “war on drugs” in 2007, with disastrous results. More than 70,000 people were killed and 26,000 more were “disappeared” by the security forces or reported missing.

For many in Mexico, it mattered little that Mr Peña Nieto provided few details on how he would end the “war”, only that he would. Indeed, no issue was more important to his election. Mr Peña Nieto pledged to broaden his agenda to energy, labour and education reforms.

The bluntness with which he and his cabinet identified the flaws of Mr Calderón’s strategy – which relied almost entirely on using ill-trained and abusive security forces to tackle organised crime – gave hope that they might change approach.

Mr Peña Nieto himself argued that ensuring soldiers and police respect human rights is a critical to, not an obstacle to, improving security. The new administration also recognised that efforts to professionalise security forces had to go hand-in-hand with training more effective prosecutors to conduct investigations aimed at dismantling the cartels.

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