Former Mexican Foreign Secretary Dr. Jorge Castañeda and former Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Mr. Robert Bonner discuss the options and consequences facing Mexican and U.S. officials. Foreign Affairs magazine hosted this event on September 29, 2010 at the Council on Foreign Relations.
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At first, Mexico's recent presidential election looked unpromising: the PRI, the country's long-dominant party, crept back into office, but with only 38 percent of the vote and no majority in Congress. Yet the campaign revealed just how much Mexicans actually agree on, and the new government is likely to pass long-overdue reforms.
Mexico is currently suffering from the same sort of drug-related violence that plagued Colombia during the 1980s. Mexico and the United States can learn a great deal from Colombia's example, including that they must build law enforcement capacity and not rely solely on military force.
Mexico is winning its death match against the drug cartels and rebuilding once-corrupt institutions in the process. But an election is approaching, and the candidates are calling for a truce. Mexico can take its place in the sun, but only if it wipes out the cartels for good.
