Alejandro Arcos was killed and beheaded six days after being elected mayor of Chilpacingo, in the Mexican state of Guerrero. The crime exposed the strength of drug cartels, strategically installed there, on the banks of the Pacific Ocean. Scholars on the issue debate when the situation got out of control in the country. In the book “Midnight in Mexico”, journalist Alfredo Corchado narrates what he calls the country’s descent into darkness with changes in the federal government’s policies in relation to mutually beneficial tolerance among PRI politicians. (Party of Institutional Revolution) and the cartel bosses failed when the PAN (Party of National Action) came to power. At the same time, the author follows the tragic transformations of the small town where he was born, on the border of , brought about by the arrival of drug trafficking.
Here, as there, there is no shortage of signs that we are descending into darkness, as organized crime changes the scale, scope of its profitable activities and ability to challenge governments. The elimination of the businessman who laundered money for the , upon disembarking —under escort— at Guarulhos airport, “is the crime saying that he is more powerful than the State”, assesses former police officer and São Paulo state deputy Paulo Batista do Reis (PT ). Maybe not —yet—, but the message seems to be that.
According to , around 72 criminal factions operate in the country, some operating from north to south, not to mention their international alliances.
Today, criminal activities are no longer restricted to drug trafficking; They also include illicit transactions with wood, minerals, adulterated fuels and even people – in addition to money laundering, financial fraud, management of hotels and gas stations, arms trading, extortion, private security, property rental, provision of TV services and internet, betting, online scams and clandestine financing of political campaigns.
An excellent summary of the issue, of the institutional advances already achieved — important, but insufficient — and of the challenges ahead, can be read in “Brazil – Experiences of public (in)security in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro”, a partnership with and USP School of Multidimensional Security, sponsored by the respected think thank de Washington.
The document has two qualities. The first is to bring the discussion to the progressive agenda, in which it has chronic difficulty establishing itself. Thus, the record of police abuses, racial discrimination, mistreatment and overcrowding in prisons do not block the recognition that security is a strong and legitimate demand of the population nor do they block the debate on concrete measures for the effective repression of crime.
The second merit consists of focusing on what is really needed: the construction of government coordination mechanisms between the three levels of the Federation, in order to increase the efficiency of public action. There is a way to go before the debate turns into action. But disputing the agenda with right-wing populism is already a promising start.
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