Will Legal Drugs Fix Mexico?

Amid a growing violence problem in Mexico, due in large part to drug-related gangs, the country’s former president, Vicente Fox, has spoken out in favor of legalizing drugs. In the proposal, published recently on his website, the former Mexican leader argued that legalization would help disrupt the illegal markets responsible for so much violence and death, a trend that has cast a pall over the sunny nation’s travel industry and left more than 28,000 dead.

"So, drug consumption is the responsibility of the person who consumes; of the family who is responsible for educating; and of the education system and the socioeconomic context," Fox said in his online statement.

Serving as president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006, Fox advocated for the legalization of production, sale and distribution of drugs.  It’s not a view shared by current president, Felipe Calderon, who has waged an all-out war on the drug cartels. Government reports estimate that the death toll has passed 28,000 since Calderon replaced Fox in 2006. 

Fox went on to say that the Mexican army was not designed or trained to fight organized crime, and suggested other options for keeping the peace. Despite his controversial remarks, Fox was careful to clarify that he was not pro-drugs.

"Legalizing in this sense doesn't mean that drugs are good or don't hurt those who consume. Rather, we have to see it as a strategy to strike and break the economic structure that allows the mafias to generate huge profits in their business."

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