Free Gangland by Jerry Langton Page A

started the Mexican Drug War.

Chapter 4
    The Rise of the Drug Cartels
    Mexico's history has hard-wired its people to be cynical about government. With single-party rule for 80 of the last 90 years and corruption so rampant that it has amounted to a kleptocracy, many Mexicans are prepared to live and work somewhere outside official channels. The fact that Mexico has a legal system based on civil or Napoleonic law, which allows for trials to be conducted in secret and forces the accused to prove his or her innocence rather than benefiting from a presumption of innocence as exists in common-law jurisdictions, added to the enmity and sometimes outright fear many Mexicans had for their own government.
    Years of government instability, incompetence and corruption have led to a terribly underdeveloped economy. In 2009, the GDP per capita in Mexico was $9,100, compared to the United States at $46,442 and Canada at $41,016. Mexicans are very aware of this disparity in wealth, and in recent years, the number of Mexicans legally migrating to the United States has ranged from 165,000 to 180,000 with far more crossing the border illegally, often at risk to their lives. According to the Pew Hispanic Center think tank, there are about 7 million Mexicans living illegally in the United States, with numbers much lower in Canada, but growing rapidly. Interestingly, Mexico has its own illegal immigration problem as people from other Central American countries often pass through Mexico on their way north, straining its resources.
    That wealth disparity and a long shared history have led to some cultural friction between Mexico and its North American neighbors. When rank-and-file Mexicans see Americans and Canadians in person, they are almost always tourists. While the retired tourists in Acapulco, the spring breakers partying at Cancun and the high school kids in Tijuana looking to take advantage of more relaxed drinking laws may all mean well, their obvious shows of wealth and frivolity often appear offensive, or at least condescending to the Mexicans living there.
    And history is of great importance. Mexicans are very proud of their ability to fight off invaders, including two attempts by the United States. Commodore Manuel Azueta is regarded as one of the nation's most important heroes by the Mexican military for leading the Naval Academy cadets against the American invasion at Veracruz in 1914. The irony is that he was defending the dictatorship of Victoriano Huerta, a man so despised still that some older Mexicans feel a need to spit every time his name is mentioned. While the last overt American military action in Mexico was almost 100 years ago, many believe that American meddling helped keep the PRI in power for so long. Some point to how President Bill Clinton issued a $50-billion bailout package to the Ernesto Zedillo government after it had devalued the peso, resulting in an unprecedented economic collapse. Canada also got involved, sending about $1 billion in a currency swap.
    The “Corupting Menace”
    Rebellious Chiapas is representative of the southern states—which also include Oaxaca, Tlaxcala, Guerrero, Michoacán, Veracruz, Tabasco, Morelos, Yucatán, Quintana Roo and Campeche. These states are generally more agricultural, more populated by indigenous people and poorer than the rest of the country, although Yucatán, Campeche and especially Quintana Roo benefit economically from tourism.
    The arable land there is derived from cleared rain forest and is some of the best in the world. In drier areas, corn is grown, but in the more moist regions melons, avocados, citrus fruits and coffee are all harvested. As the 20 th century progressed, many people in the southern states realized they could make more money growing another crop—marijuana.
    Smoking many different substances, especially tobacco, has been an important social custom among indigenous Americans well into prehistory and its association with