INTERVIEW: Mexico's drug war 'can't be won by military force alone'

By Ulrike von Leszczynski Feb 8, 2012, 10:41 GMT

Berlin - The drug war in Mexico takes thousands of lives every year, as cartels fight each other and Mexico's military for multi-billion dollar profits. The conflict cannot be won by military force alone, says Friedemann Schirrmeister, a political scientist at Heidelberg's Institute for International Conflict Research. That's because Mexico's main problem isn't drugs, he says - it's corruption.

How did the drug war come to Mexico?

SCHIRRMEISTER: At the beginning if the 1990s, the top Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar was shot, and his cartel was broken up by the military. The Mexicans stepped into this power vacuum, originally doing logistics. Mexico is a drug moving machine, especially toward to the USA, but also through Africa to Europe.

How could the Mexican cartels become so powerful?

SCHIRRMEISTER: They learned from Colombia. The Mexican drug cartels only earn 50 per cent of their income with drugs. The other half is organized crime - from extortion to human trafficking. Illegal border crossing to the US is an especially big business. There's evidence that the Mexican drug cartels are getting involved in the oil business, even stealing oil from the state petroleum company.

Is corruption linked to the drug cartels Mexico's biggest problem?

SCHIRRMEISTER: 'Yes. Half of local administrations are undermined by corruption. The most dramatic example is in Sinaloa state, home of the powerful Sinaloa cartel. People there expect hardly anything from the state. The cartel takes care of schools and kindergartens, of houses and streets. For many unemployed youths, the cartels are the only way to make a living. And so the drug cartels have deep roots in civil society. The cartels make themselves beloved - and that makes it hard to catch the bosses.

So it is essentially a problem of poverty?

SCHIRRMEISTER: Yes. A rural policeman with three children can't raise a family on his salary. So he just turns his head when a particular truck drives up the street - and he has a second source of income. The state is working harder against corruption now. In 2010, for example, they fired 1,000 customs officials at once, as well as police. But that's not how you solve the problem. It's obvious where they're going to turn. There has to be some incentive for them to not let themselves be paid off by the other side. Right now, it's the opposite.

Is there a way out of this dilemma?

SCHIRRMEISTER: Since 2006, the Mexican state has been engaged in a military offensive against the drug cartels. More than 30,000 soldiers are deployed. The US is supporting the fight with money and also with weapons. (US Secretary of State) Hillary Clinton has spoken of a shared responsibility, because the US has such a great appetite for drugs and that fuels the crime in Mexico. But even without US consumption, the problem wouldn't be solved. The business is growing now over Africa. This war can't be won by military force alone. Already many high-ranking cartel leaders have been shot - and nothing has changed.

So there's no chance?

SCHIRRMEISTER: It's very difficult. The state must focus on getting corruption in its own ranks under control. And they shouldn't put such massive funding into the military. It would be more important to win back the trust of the population, bit by bit.