Drug war Mexico: politics, neoliberalism and violence in the new narcoeconomy

Mexico is in crisis. During the neoliberal era, narcotrafficking has flourished to become one of the country's biggest sources of revenue, as well as its most violent, with over 12,000 drug-related executions in 2011 alone. This insightful, controversial book throws new light on the situation, contending that the 'war on drugs' in Mexico is in fact a pretext for a US-backed strategy to bolster unpopular neoliberal policies, a weak yet authoritarian government and a radically unfair status quo.

About the Authors; Figures and Tables; Figures; Tables; Abbreviations; Acknowledgements; Map; Introduction; 1 Drug Trafficking in Mexico -- History and Background; Trafficking in the Early Twentieth Century; The Impact of Economic Integration, Capitalist Expansion and Changes in Land Ownership; The Post-Revolutionary Government and Smuggling; The Cold War Period; 2 Cold War Expansion of the Trade and the Repression of Dissent; The Other Operation Condor; 3 The Political Economy of the 'War on Drugs'; Traffickers and the PRI; Consumption in Mexico.

The Economy, Free Trade, the Washington Consensus and the CartelsUS Involvement in Mexico; 4 Getting Rich Quick -- and Those Who Didn't; 'Un Político Pobre es un Pobre Político' (A Politician Who is Poor is a Poor Politician); 4.1 Number of parastatal enterprises in Mexico, 1930-1994; Figure 4.1. Number of parastatal enterprises in Mexico, 1930-1994; NAFTA; 4.1 NAFTA, European Union and China, 2006; 4.2 Main features of NAFTA members, 2006; Table 4.1 NAFTA, European Union and China, 2006; Table 4.2 Main features of NAFTA members, 2006; 'A Guy of Absolute Unquestioned Integrity'

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