EFE
The United States will be the only winner in the Mexican government's war on drugs, according to Subcomandante Marcos, spokesman for the Zapatista National Liberation Army, or EZLN.
President Felipe Calderon's militarized struggle against organized crime will leave Mexico a "destroyed, depopulated, irreparably broken nation," Marcos said in an essay, "On Wars," he sent to philosopher Luis Villoro.
Though it still calls itself an army, the EZLN has not engaged in military operations since its initial January 1994 uprising in the southern state of Chiapas.
"Thanks to the sponsorship of Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, we need not resort to the geography of the Middle East to critically reflect on war. It is no longer necessary to turn back the calendar to Vietnam, Playa Giron (the Bay of Pigs)...," the essay says.
Calderon's war on crime was doomed from the start, according to Marcos, because it was "conceived, not as a solution to a problem of security, but to a problem of legitimacy, and it is destroying the last redoubt left to a nation: the social fabric."
The "problem of legitimacy" refers to the circumstances of Calderon's accession to the presidency, which followed months of protests after he narrowly won a July 2006 election marred by allegations of fraud.
The United States, as the "principal provider" of weapons to both the Mexican security forces and the cartels, is the only winner in the drug war, Marcos said.
Even as Washington supplies the Mexican military and police, the cartels acquire many of their weapons - notably assault rifles - from gun shops in U.S. border states.
"What better war for the United States than one that gives it profits, territory and political and military control without the inconvenient 'body bags' and war-wounded that came to it, earlier, from Vietnam, and now from Iraq and Afghanistan?," Marcos asks.
The government says Mexico registered 15,273 gangland killings in 2010, a 58 percent increase over the previous year, and estimates the number of drug-war deaths since Calderon took office in December 2006 at more than 34,000.
Last month, Marcos broke a silence of two years to mourn the death of the bishop emeritus of San Cristobal de las Casas, Samuel Ruiz Garcia, a defender of the indigenous peoples of Chiapas and one-time mediator between the Mexican government and the EZLN.
The subcomandante, a former professor, said the "War" essay is the first of four he plans to send to Villoro, author of "The Challenges of the Society to Come."
Mexico "needs a radical transformation and the only ones conscious of that are the Zapatistas," Villoro said recently.
A great leader. Viva Zapatista!
ReplyDeleteyeah right... blah blah blah...
ReplyDeleteand without the monumental greed and love of money mexico wouldn't be tearing itself apart
we all have free will, and all face temptation...it is mexico's own fault that it falls for it.... ingrained brutality,cowardice, greed and avarice determine mexicos fate ..not the USA
Marcos' Lives in Switzerland! Do you have any idea how much it costs to live in Switzerland???
ReplyDeleteWhere did HE GET ALL HIS MONEY!!!
Pot calling the kettle black!!
Amen 'brito
ReplyDeletethe way it seems, El sub-comandante Marcos is preparing for the outcome of mexico's war, so that he can continue with what he started years back!
ReplyDeleteIt is well known fact that the only reason the US sends military aid to other countries "billions of dollars", is to make those countries buy weapons and vehicles from the US.. this is what good lobbying does. I disagree, I don't think it is the US interest for mexico to fall, then they will have to get in and a third war would be bad for everyone. At the same time the US needs to ease down on the war on drugs, think about it, the last three presidents did drugs at one time or another (even "harmless" marijuana). Drugs are as American as apple pie. We Americans love to do what we please, from driving big suvs to eating massive amounts of food. Drugs will always be in our culture, that's the sad reality..
ReplyDeleteBUT Mexico needs to rid itself of corruption, it has never been as evident as right now, everyone wants to make a peso out of this war.. like the article from yesterday stated "even morgues were asking for mordidas", what is up with that!
The sad thing is that a small group of the population that is greedy enough to resort to violence n corruption gives all of Mexico a bad name. And its easy to say this is what you need to do or this is what's wrong but not so easy to change it
ReplyDeleteYeah that´s what we in Mexico need, to give a pulpit to this moron. This man is as much to blame as anybody involved in the drug trade. He showed the entire nation that you do not have to fear the Mexican Government, and you can take up arms and disregard the constitution and be immune to any reprocusions of your actions. The drug dealers saw this and stockpiled arms under President Fox´s inept leadership and began to enforce their own laws. The problems in Mexico are a direct result of this disrespect to the government and to society in general, which Subcomandante Marcos began.
ReplyDeleteSo fuck him and his revolution.
MM38
It's kind of funny actually how a smarter US conservative and a rather smarter Mexican Leftist can take almost the exact same political position on this question of US government pushed 'drug war', isn't it?
ReplyDeleteJacob Hornberger says...
....The drug-war violence in Mexico — and, for that matter, here in the United States — is owing to the drug war. Legalize drugs and the violence comes to an end. So what if those drug-war-enforcement agents are put out to pasture. Taxpayers would be relieved of having to pay their salaries. And the agents losing their jobs would benefit in the long run because they then would get to spend their lives with peaceful, productive jobs rather than the violent, corrupt, dead-end jobs they currently have.
Jacob Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation. This is the ending portion of a commentary he made about a year ago about Mexico's US government fueled 'drug war'. Full commentary can be found at
Speaking Drug-War Truth in the Border Patrol
by Jacob G. Hornberger
http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2011-01-28.asp
What, the US public needs to take from this article and many more articles in circulation. Is that the US government is going to attempt to take gun owners rights. First it will start with a mandatory registration on all guns, then by limits set on gun sales and finally on the "temp" confiscation of weapons. All this will be done with the prospects of winning the war in Mexico. DO NOT let it fool....DO NOT RELINQISH YOUR WEAPONS....that is the only thing that separates the PREDATORS from the PREY.
ReplyDeleteThey who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. B. Franklin
This guy is an idiot, why is he now saying the us is just sitting back and watching waiting to take over. His insignificant revolution did nothing for Mexico, now he is just trying to say something from far away . Got an idea get your little zapatistas together and go fight these drug armies, see how long you last .
ReplyDeleteHere we go again with the saying "legalize drugs, and you damage the profits of the cartels to such a degree, that they go away". We are now seeing in northern Mexico what happens when the cartels get desperatly short of money. more extortions, more kidnappings, and more people losing everything. It is naive to think that these networks would ever just give up and go home!! corruption is the problem! the government and law enforcement is constantly undermining itself through corrupt politicians and cops!
ReplyDeleteYes, to actually END the drug war the government would have to decriminalize drug use, Anonymous of 7:04. And if this approach is not taken, the corruption that is already endemic in most capitalist countries anyway, does totally go into runaway levels.
ReplyDeleteThe drug war has been going on for what??? almost 50 years now, and the drug trade keeps growing bigger and bigger, and spreads to dominating more and more areas of the world? And it's all for what? To supposedly protect the individual from being able to make their own choices about what they consume? No thanks, InterNational Security State.
'Calderon's war on crime was doomed from the start, according to Marcos, because it was "conceived, not as a solution to a problem of security, but to a problem of legitimacy, and it is destroying the last redoubt left to a nation: the social fabric."'
Marcos nails it right on the head. Too bad so many Borderland Beat readers in the US remain totally clueless about what he's talking about though.
What we need is BS from another left wing REVOLUTIONARY why are this guys comments news worthy --because he is US bashing- about the only thing Mexican politics can agree on. You people who attack this war on drugs?? What do you propose Poetry ,candles,get well cards? Mexico is and has been rotten to the core and will stay that way unless the values of the country exclude crime ,graft, corruption,dishonesty, misinformation---- as an accepted way of life,some for any person,organization,of country. OK legalize drugs, do you ignorant bastards think for one minuite that organized crime would go away, HELLO robbery,extortion,kidnapping-- will increase proportionally.
ReplyDeleteMan, it never occurs to izquierdistas that even if you decide to take over something or some country you not only obtain the assets but you also inherit the liabilities. It's 2011 and Mexico's liabilities are skyrocketing into territory previously reserved for Somalia, Ethiopia and Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteIt also never occurs to this dude just how broke America really is. Dude, estamos bruja, bruja, bruja! Where is America going to get the cash to fight a war to take over Mexico? Is China going to suddenly lend us more money? Bwahahahahahahaha, that's a good one!
Who in there right mind would invade and "take over" a country that has no modern infrastructure, a irreparably dysfunctional government that does not collect any taxes nor pass or enforce any laws, and relies entirely on tourism, neolithic agriculture and dwindling mineral wealth for its entire GDP? The USA would? Well, maybe he's right. We Americans just might be that effing stupid.
These izquierdistas may be long on idealogy, but damn it if they aren't short when it comes to basic common sense and math skills.
An Ah Ha Moment! Now we have a leftist revolutionary group (EZLN), rearing it's head to volunteer solutions to the Drug War.
ReplyDeleteLet's see what he accuses the US of, because of course it's our fault:
The United States, as the "principal provider" of weapons to both the Mexican security forces and the cartels, is the only winner... "What better war for the United States than one that gives it profits, territory and political and military control without the inconvenient 'body bags' and war-wounded that came to it..." Marcos said.
1. Profits - whatever money is made in the US for the sale of guns and equipment to Mexico is offset by the MONEY we give to the Mexican government so that they can purchase these weapons. As for those retail shops who sell to the cartels via straw purchases, they are criminals and should be treated as such. The only people that are profiting here are those who are doing so illegally--same in Mexico.
2. Territory - do you really think we are going to fight this war to take over your land? Those days are gone and I think that's nuts. There is territory being taken over, though. Parts of Arizona, especially national park land, and other ranch land has been abandoned because of the cartels--as well as la frontera chica in Mexico. We both loose.
3. Political and military control - this is the tricky one. Mexico's political and military infrastructure is in shambles because of corruption. It's everywhere. Why would the US want political and military control of Mexico? As in other countries we have tried to help--we offer help to elect a more just and democratic government to replace what is not working. This has not always gone smoothly but it is in our own self interest to have a stable neighbor and trading partner.
Unlike you misguided haters of Capitalism, our goal is not to take over, but to have a world free enough to permit trade and allow cooperation among nations. Drug traffickers disrupt trading among nations because they operate outside the law and attempt to enforce their own brand of 'justice' usually at the people's expense and always at the point of a gun.
Now what does this Marcos and his ally Luis Villoro want?
The answer may be found in studying the life of a man like Che Guevara who's experiences upon observing poverty and injustice in Latin America led him to conclude that these economic and social inequalities were an intrinsic result of capitalism...
Guevara was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, guerrilla leader and military theorist. As a "major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion." (Wikipedia) Who is the counterculture of our times--the hippies and drug users--of which many of us took part in. Who would benefit from a counter revolutionary type like the EZLN--the CARTELS.
Now ask yourself what the leftist revolutionaries are after?
Hint: Where and how does Marcos live? Bet he's not in Cuba!
Que Viva La Revolcion !!!
ReplyDelete“All cultures forged by nations—the noble indigenous past of America, the brilliant civilization of Europe, the wise history of Asian nations, and the ancestral wealth of Africa and Oceania—are corroded by the American way of life.
ReplyDeleteIn this way, neoliberalism imposes the destruction of nations and groups of nations in order to reconstruct them according to a single model. This is a planetary war, of the worst and cruelest kind, waged against humanity.”
It is in this context which Subcomandante Marcos believes that the EZLN and other indigenous movements across the world are fighting back. He sees the EZLN as one of many "pockets of resistance." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subcomandante_Marcos]
This hatred and blame of everything American (not British, Canadian, French or Saudi Arabian) sounds akin to Al Quaeda and other middle-east insurgents--they blame us for modernizing the world.
What bullshit, and ass backwards thinking!
ReplyDelete'OK legalize drugs, do you ignorant bastards think for one minuite that organized crime would go away, HELLO robbery,extortion,kidnapping-- will increase proportionally.'
The decades old record of the US pushed 'war on drugs' in Latin America and US inner cities, PLUS the record of what happened with Prohibition, shows that it is actually making drugs illegal that increases 'robbery,extortion,kidnapping'. Get your facts straight, AnonyMoe 9:42 AM, because in your eagerness to spout Right Wing ideology you are merely speaking nonsense here.
And AnonyMoe 11:02 AM, who the hell is talking about the US taking over Mexico? Not me and not Marcos either. So where did you come up with all this nonsense???
'Who in there right mind would invade and "take over" a country that has no modern infrastructure, a irreparably dysfunctional government that does not collect any taxes nor pass or enforce any laws, and relies entirely on tourism, neolithic agriculture and dwindling mineral wealth for its entire GDP? The USA would? Well, maybe he's right. We Americans just might be that effing stupid.'
No! What is effing stupid is how you Right Wingers argue oftentimes with voices in your head. Once again, Marcos never said a damn thing a about the US invading and taking over his country. Unlike you, he knows that it is simply enough to have a puppet government of Mexican elites allied with the US to screw up Mexico royal. That would be the PRI and PAN parties most especially. He specifically mentions the rateros around FeCal Calderon though.
And now let's briefly respond to dittohead Right Winger the Third here. I'm talking about Layla2's assertion that the US doesn't get a profit out of Mexico at all but is just a generous gift giving machine. This guy seems utterly ignorant of all the American corporations all over Mexico sucking blood. Just WalMart alone sucks billions out of Mexico. However, Layla2 assures us that that is not a factor and then goes on about how the US doesn't want territory nor power over Mexico! Nobody said that teh US was trying for a land grab of Mexican territory though. Another Right Winger arguing with the voices in his head, I guess? Take your meds, Layla2!
Layla2 argues thus...
'Why would the US want political and military control of Mexico? As in other countries we have tried to help--we offer help to elect a more just and democratic government to replace what is not working.'
The US already has political and military control over Mexico, Layla2. It's not trying to get it, since it has it already. And your crap about bringing democracy as helping hand is so shallow and stupid when one takes into consideration how the US government's actual track record of supporting dictators around the globe.
One wonders.... Is Layla2 really as ignorant as he appears to be? Right now the US is trying to brake the rebellion in Egypt and keep Mubarak cronies in power there, as they have done for over 30 years with Mubarak himself. This delusion about the US government actually Promoting Democracy, Layla2, is baloney! We hardly have a democracy in the US even. We have a corporate machine eternally buying power and that's about it.
the only entity that is to blame besides the cartels themselves is the Mexican Government. the politicians. for years the drug business benefited them. now its coming back to bite them in the ass.
ReplyDeleteas well as the entire country.
@Layla2
ReplyDelete"1. Profits - whatever money is made in the US for the sale of guns and equipment to Mexico is offset by the MONEY we give to the Mexican government so that they can purchase these weapons."
You don't give the Mexican government money, you give equipment and training for the estimate value for example the Merida Initiative is estimated at 235 million this year, you only give equipment and training estimated at that amount. No money being transfer here and there. There is no checks being cash in here. READ the Merida Initiative and you will learn something.
'Why would the US want political and military control of Mexico? As in other countries we have tried to help--we offer help to elect a more just and democratic government to replace what is not working.'
Have you look at Iraq and Afghanistan recently? Some democratic government right? haha
And if you have read wiki leaks you probably know what I am talking about.
Ernest1,
ReplyDeleteMarcos says: "What better war for the United States than one that gives it profits, territory and political and military control without the inconvenient 'body bags' and war-wounded that came to it"...
"Profits"....From gun sales and presumably any assets taken under US control. Assets. Check.
"Territory"....An asset (and liability). Check. Also implies take over since USA has no control over Mexican sovereign territory today. None.
"Political and Military Control"...That's take over dude. Except Marcos gives Americans and their inept elected officials way too much credit here. Not going to happen. We can't even govern California effectively. And Military control? Control over what exactly is Marcos referring?
I'm not surprised he speaks out. His revolution in Chiapas is all but irrelevant and forgotten history now. Unless Marcos has some constructive ideas to improve things for the Mexican people I'm not convinced anyone there give a shit about what the dried up revolutionary has to say.
he could be working with the spooks the same way the Afghans were for so long...
ReplyDeleteernst1
ReplyDeleteyour antiquated view and repetitive use of out of date political terms such as "right wing" merge well with your cheer leading gyrations in support this charlatan revolutionary
you repeatedly attempt to side track the conversation to transfer attention to your own selfish interests
your ego is only exceeded by your capacity to bore
Marcos and the Zapatistas never were just about 'revolution' solely in Chiapas. All of Mexico is important to them, as it is with all other Mexicans.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't happen to agree with much of the strategy the Zapatistas have engaged in, but to call Marcos a 'dried out revolutionary' is a pretty stupid thing. And who is doing this anyhow, the smug and self satisfied with it all USA is #1 crowd, Bow Down before us group of imperialist cheerleaders? These people are only capable of following, not leading. And they will follow the US corporate world/ Pentagon into any and all countries of the world they wish to 'intervene' in.
It still has not registered on the Mexican people as a whole how much the US is running this charade of a 'drug war' and how much the US is involved in setting the Mexican government's follow along policies. When the people finally begin to understand how bad this US interventionism into Mexico really is and how bad they have done it, the Mexican people will speak up big time. Then we'll see about this bullshit of 'dried out revolutionaries' that AnonyMoe 5:38 PM has parroted out of the Right Wing US press.
'Unless Marcos has some constructive ideas to improve things for the Mexican people I'm not convinced anyone there give a shit about what the dried up revolutionary has to say.'
His message is 'Live Free or Die'. That's just exactly what is happening to Mexicans living in rural areas. They and their children are dying in droves because they are under the thumb of national and international politicians of both the DF and DC. Marcos' 'constructive idea' is simply to get them off the backs of the Mexican common people.
@ the readership of BB
ReplyDeleteonce again we witness follow the leader ditto heads willing to embrace an unworkable political strategy in order to further their foggy agendas directed towards unsophisticated peasants looking to a quasi educated messiah to lift them out of the mire of their economic situation
the relentless attacks perpetrated on the innocent agrarian societies by the left wing yellow running dog agents doing the bidding of the death dealing warlords who promulgate the propaganda driven mass hysteria inducing stream of lies and broken promises that ultimately serve only to deflect their actual hopes of ever realizing true social progress
ok thats enough of that blather..
but you see how easy it is to talk meaningless drivel like ernst1 constantly spouts
just cliches and parrot like phrases
endlessly repeated in an attempt to hypnotize the audience
I only want to address erney's comment about Walmart sucking blood from the Mexicans because its important for those who think American corporations are the root of all evil. (The rest of the ideological bullshit can be saved for another day.)
ReplyDeleteWalmart is all over the world. Like it or not, this is because most of the goods that it offers are priced cheaper than anyone else can sell. Anywhere. Economics 101.
So we reluctantly bite the Walmart bullet and buy our stuff there. We could go somewhere and pay higher prices--but usually we don't. This is why it is one of the richest corporations in the world. Every man and woman who walks into that store needs something and will go to buy it somewhere. Walmart has managed to corner the market on low prices and greatest variety of merchandise.
If I can spend less of my paycheck on goods at Walmart, I will have more left over to pay at the restaurant or clothing store or furniture mart--my money goes farther and more people benefit.
Now, lets say Walmart is put out of business. Now I have to drive to another town AND pay higher prices to buy what I need. I will now have less left over for anything else--to benefit any other business enterprise.
We all benefit economically from these large corporations. And if you don't like the politics of one of them--no one is forcing you to enter the store and buy a damn thing.
At least not until enough knuckleheads think that nationalizing industry (i.e. Pemex) is the way to economic freedom--then we're all screwed.
BTW Erney, I'm a woman not a man..next time you'd like to address me.
ReplyDeleteI know lots of us came down hard on your leftist/Marxist/socialist friend Marcos and his Zapatista revolutionaries. But frankly I don't want to see another Cuba.
AND addressing us with condecending and sarcastic remarks will not show your intelligence. I've know your ideals and politics from the start.
Layla2, I bet you've worried yourself silly about seeing another Cuba happen. Got forbid that such independence of the US Empire should ever take place in yet another spot of the world. Cheney would have a heart attack!
ReplyDeleteAs to WalMart. I have no fetish against this family of multi billionaires. You as a woman though, Layla2, probably are upset at them for their constant discrimination against their women employees.
Nationalizing business like say Mexico did with Pemex??? NAh... Union Carbide, Exxon Mobil, and many other fine businesses are doing just fine out there as they plant trees and flowers everywhere. And the fish love em, too! We need these fine companies just the way they are to give us more chemicals in our lives.
'AND addressing us with condecending and sarcastic remarks will not show your intelligence. I've know your ideals and politics from the start.'
I think you have just misunderstood me. I'll try to be sweeter like you though.
ernest1,
ReplyDeleteSo what is the solution?
You seem to want the US and US companies to butt out completely.
So it the US is to control demand, what's your proposal to achieve this?
I'm interested.
Marcos is a cowardly monkey who pretends to be important. He is a sad man who wishes to insert himself into the public discourse to regain some notoriety, rejuvenate his image and appear relevant. To propose that the US wins when Mexico is in turmoil is to not have any understanding of our relationship and the urgency needed to find remedies and solutions to help the Mexican people. Marcos is full of hot air- he has never done anything to truly help anyone in Mexico.
ReplyDelete