Mexico Imploding (Commentary)

Money Seized in A Mexican Drug Bust

From The Washington Times:

Americans have a surreal view of Mexico based on glittering tourist hot-spots such as Cancun, Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta.

However, in reality, many places in Mexico are imploding with strife because of the influence of criminal organizations. While U.S. foreign policy concentrates on adjudicating conflict by spending trillions in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, we neglect the expanding turmoil in our own backyard.

A destabilized Mexico would cause us social-political, economic and security problems expanding from Brownsville, Texas, to Millinocket, Maine. The United States must consider spending more of its largess on our neighbors instead of a collection of far-flung countries where there may be no traction.

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My Comment: We are definitely losing this war. Years ago I always enjoyed going to Mexico for a weeks vacation. I no longer go there. You can no longer avoid the crime, social breakdown, and grinding poverty that is now endemic in all areas of Mexico. What is tragic is that the reasons for this collapse are obvious.

A corrupt and politicized ruling class that uses government to monopolize industries and suffocate any small to medium businesses that are trying to grow. The unemployment that this causes ferments the development of underground industries .... of which the narco trade is the biggest. But the real sad part of the situation is that when I talk to people from the region, they believe that the solution is more government involvement and regulation of their economies. In short .... more of the same.

Mexico has all the components that Venezuela had before Hugo Chavez took power. Endemic poverty. A corrupt legal, social, and political class. Racial politics that favors the Spanish descendants. And an economy that is structured to favor the establishment, and that is used to stifle any competition.

We in the United States have not helped this situation with our open borders policy. Is the U.S. prepared to admit 10 million more Mexicans .... 20 million Mexicans .... maybe more? By admitting cheap labor into the United States ... the underlying misery that is in Mexico does not get addressed. Everyone is approaching Mexico with the best intentions .... but what we are actually doing is prolonging and even creating a larger disaster.