A narco history : how the United States and Mexico jointly created the "Mexican drug war"

The War Against Drugs: who started it, and why? What are its consequences in real terms, not mere statistics, for the people most affected by it?One hundred thousand deaths laterwith the vast majority of those killed innocent citizens, such as the 43 teachers college students murdered in Guerrerothe solution to peace requires a radical rethinking of how America, and its neighbors, approach the illegal drug trade. The War Against Drugs: who started it, and why? What are its consequences in real terms, not mere statistics, for the people most affected by it? One hundred thousand deaths laterwith the vast majority of those killed innocent citizens, such as the 43 teachers college students recently killed in Guerrerothe solution to peace requires a radical rethinking of how America, and its neighbors, approach the illegal drug trade. The origins of this cataclysm of violence go back a century: and no two writers are better suited to this investigation than Carmen Boullosa and Mike Wallace, two legendary prize-winning writers, one Mexican and the other American. Through them we learn of economic disaster, mass migration of families fleeing violence, and the chaos that has ensued as direct results of this disastrous policy promulgated by the U.S. Government. Before the attack on a supposedly rampant drug problem, Mexico had one of the lowest crime rates and lowest addiction rates in Latin America. Now, it may be the most crime-ridden, drug-infested country on the planet. The term 'Mexican Drug War' implies that the ongoing bloodbath, which has now killed well over 100,000 people, is an internal Mexican affair. But this diverts attention from the U.S. role in creating and sustaining the carnage. It's not just that Americans buy drugs from, and sell weapons to, Mexico's murderous cartels. It's that ever since the U.S. prohibited the use and sale of drugs in the early 1900s, it has pressured Mexico into acting as its border enforcer-with increasingly deadly consequences. Mexico was not a helpless victim. Powerful forces within the country profited hugely from supplying Americans with what their government forbade them. But the policies that spawned the drug war have proved disastrous for both countries. Written by two award-winning authors, one American and the other Mexican, A Narco History reviews the interlocking twentieth-century histories that produced this twenty-first century calamity, and proposes how to end it. The term "Mexican Drug War" misleads. It implies that the ongoing bloodbath, which has now killed well over 100,000 people, is an internal Mexican affair. But this diverts attention from the U.S. role in creating and sustaining the carnage. It's not just that Americans buy drugs from, and sell weapons to, Mexico's murderous cartels. It's that ever since the U.S. prohibited the use and sale of drugs in the early 1900s, it has pressured Mexico into acting as its border enforcer--with increasingly deadly consequences. Mexico was not a helpless victim. Powerful forces within the country profited hugely from supplying Americans with what their government forbade them. But the policies that spawned the drug war have proved disastrous for both countries A Narco History, Written By Two Award-winning Authors, One American And The Other Mexican, Reviews The Interlocking Twentieth-century Histories That Produced This Twenty-first Century Calamity, And Proposes How To Bring It To An End.--page [4] Of Cover. Carmen Boullosa & Mike Wallace. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 201-228). Introduction: The forty-three 1. 1910s-1930s 2. 1940s-1950s 3. 1960s-1970s 4. 1980s 5. 1988 6. 1990s 7. 2000-2006 8. 2006 9. 2006-2012 10. 2012 11. 2012- 12. New directions Acknowledgements Bibliography About the authors.