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Mexico's Corruption In The US

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Fairly recently, the news was buzzing with reports of “El Chapo”, Mexican drug lord, escaping from his cell at a high-security prison in Mexico through a mile-long tunnel. However, according to CNN analysts, rather than the tunnel, it was corruption that ultimately set him free (Shoichet). Government corruption has been a serious issue for Mexico since colonial times and without a proper solution, it won’t be getting better anytime soon. This widespread corruption affects the entire country of Mexico, and to some degree, the countries that frequently interact with Mexico such as the United States. It is an important issue because it has a major effect on Mexico’s economy and political progress. Corruption began in Mexico during Spanish rule; …show more content…

Ironically, politicians have revealed a lot of previous information on corruption to the public,“In the past, new (always PRI) officials would cover for their predecessors and expect those coming after to do the same. But with fierce electoral competition, incoming governments, especially those from opposing political parties, have a strong incentive to publicize the misdeeds (and particularly the overspending) of previous administrations” (O’Neil). America, while showing concern for the issue, seems to force the blame of this issue almost entirely on Mexico when the US is a major contributor to the problem as the country’s biggest consumer for drugs-- feeding the cartels and the corruption (Lomnitz).
Few solutions have been presented to solve the issue of corruption in Mexico because corruption is so deeply imbedded in their society. Solving it without the entire system changing drastically or even collapsing wouldn’t be simple (Weiner). After the recent incident regarding the missing students, Mexico claims to want to move towards a “mando único,” or single police command; others argue that the standards for police should be focused on instead, so that the justice system can be trusted …show more content…

This will lead to progressively more violence and poverty. In order to stop corruption, the people of Mexico have to want to work to stop it as well rather than just accepting it (Jones). In order to get the masses in support of ending corruption, more awareness needs to be spread about the negative causes of corruption. In Monterrey, Mexico, a bus called the “Corruptour” offers tours of corruption in Mexico (Agren). Using unique systems like this could be a key part in spreading information about corruption when the common media is closed-off. However, while sharing knowledge can be a big advantage in the battle against corruption, it likely won’t solve everything. A more forceful way of combatting this would be to tighten border security for drugs coming into the U.S. and guns going into Mexico. If this traffic can be successfully diminished, the cartels won’t get profit and will lose power. The legalization of some drugs, such as marijuana, could also assure that the cartels’ don’t make money but this solution comes with its own side-effects. Mexico’s corruption issue is a widespread and long-lasting problem but with cooperation and the right ideas, it can eventually be

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