Journalists report on Mexico
‘’People don’t understand that drugs trafficking is the biggest global industry of the world. There isn’t a gram of cocaine, which didn’t come through some Mexican’s hands,” said the journalist Anabel Hernandez, a speaker on Wednesday’s conference devoted to reporting on Mexico
The conference took place during the first day of Perugia’s International Journalism Festival in Hotel Brufani. The four invited guests are experienced journalists who have been working in Mexico for years regardless of the fact that fourteen journalists were murdered there only in 2010. They all published a book on this issue.
According to the speakers, Mexican drugs smugglers send their merchandise to 50 countries, including USA as the biggest market, where people remain indifferent to the situation of the country where their drugs come from.
“I don’t know who Mexican cartels are. I get my drugs and distribute them,” said Malcolm Beith, the author of “The Last Narco”, quoting a dealer.
Narko-trafficking brings an enormous profit to cartels, which then share it with the government. Due to corruption, the government has no interest to restrain the business.
“The Mexican government and narko-traffickers are one thing. Politicians are penetrated by them. All of them have sold their soul to the devil,” said Anabel Hernandez.
As explained Malcolm Beith, the government is also involved into “the civil war” between dugs cartels, by supporting one of them.
“They want to create a drugs-traffic’s monopoly. However, all drugs lords, would rather see Mexico destroyed then losing the war,” he said.
Victims of this war are also civilians. Since 2006, over 40,000 people were reported murdered and 5,000 disappeared. Only two percent of crimes are investigated.
“This week more than one hundred bodies were found in a massive grave, exactly at the same place where 72 dead South-American immigrants were found the previous year. And the government didn’t do anything. Cartels don’t differentiate nationalities, genders and age. [Generally], 46 percent of the people killed were under the age of 40,” testified Cynthia Rodriguez, the author of “Contacto en Italia. El Pacto entre la Ndrangheta Los Zetas”.
Wednesday’s speakers believe that restraining the consumption of drugs around the world would decrease Mexico’s criminality . They also emphasized on the impacts the Mexican civil society could have by protesting against drugs trafficking. Citizen have already shown their willing to act after the falsified presidential election in 2006, when they came out to protest. The manifestation against narko- business have already taken place on 11th of April this year. Thousands of Mexican have participated.
Karolina Drogowska
