Mexico Unstable

As many as half of Mexican citizens believe their country is on the edge of disintegrating into chaos and violence. The Associated Press is reporting that a national poll conducted by Parametria for the upcoming presidential elections shows that 50% of the people think Mexico is about to come apart at the seams. The poll had a 3% margin of error.

If 50% of the people believe something, it is likely to be true. But what is causing it? Probably a myriad of reasons. The Zapatista rebellion in the south is still going strong. They had an armed rebellion in 1994, which was brutally put down by the central government, but they have not gone away. They are still demonstrating daily for rights and help for the native mexican peoples in poor southern states such as Chiapas. There is a continuing, although low, level of violence between citizens and the police. This part of Mexico could blow up at any time into a full-scale armed insurrection.

In the north [Nuevo Laredo, Juarez, etc.], the battle is between drug dealers and the government, and it has been very bloody. Not only are rival gangs killing each other in large numbers, but scores of police have been murdered. Although this has been going on for a while, the Mexican government seems incapable of getting a handle on the situation.

The third reason for mexican instability is the extreme poverty in much of Mexico. This is the reason we have millions of mexican citizens working in this country. The money these "illegal aliens" send back to Mexico is all many of their families have to stave off starvation. If we really could get rid of these workers, it could be economically devastating for Mexico.

Why should americans care? Mexico is on our southern border. If Mexico erupts into violence, it could easily spill over into border states such as Texas. It would also drive many more millions north for both safety and economic reasons. Our federal government needs to stop worrying about a fence [that wouldn't work anyway] and start worrying about what is happening inside Mexico, before Mexico's problems become our own.

Rebellion, corruption, poverty, and drug murders are serious problems, and I admit that I don't know what to do about them. But if we don't help Mexico deal with these problems, they will soon be ours. This is a much more dangerous situation for our country than Iraq ever was. This isn't imaginary weapons of mass destruction. These problems are real and they are on our border.