Mexico's next president has boldly promised to halve the number of kidnappings and murders during his six-year term by moving law enforcement away from showy drug busts and focusing on protecting ordinary citizens from gangs. The Mexico Institute's Eric Olson comments.
Washington Examiner, 7/5/2012
Pena Nieto also says he wants to increase security spending and nearly double the ranks of the federal police by 35,000 officers, continuing Calderon's strategy of bolstering the national force and using it in places where local law enforcement is weak or corrupt.
And he wants to consolidate Mexico's thousands of notoriously ineffective local police departments with the 31 state forces, another idea proposed but only partially completed under Calderon.
The similarity of Pena Nieto's publicly announced plans to those of his predecessor has fed doubts.
"I'm more and more convinced that they don't really have a blueprint," said Eric Olson, associate director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.
The Mexico Institute seeks to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship. A binational Advisory Board, chaired by Luis Téllez and Earl Anthony Wayne, oversees the work of the Mexico Institute. Read more
