Reading Mexico: Area Specialists Needed

Dallas Morning News carried an interesting analysis of the narcotics violence in Mexico by Andrew Steele of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for scholars. I would love to see an extended conversation with Steele and see him as a talking head more than some half-educated journalist. I think his observations are level-headed, and while I don't feel like I have to agree with everything he said, it at least has some logic behind it and avoids blanket buzz words like "apocalyptic" and "nightmare." Steele is a good example of the kind of commentary we should see the press going to instead of Wall Street Journal reporters or former Iraq correspondents plopped down in the Zona Rosa. Kudos to the Dallas Morning News and Alfredo Corchado for presenting a conversation that was worth reading. And double Kudos for Steele in acknowledging the corruption, criminal partners, and demand in the United States that make high-violence narco-crime in Mexico possible.

Violence and Drug Crime to Fall in Mexico: Texans to Stay Home

The student paper at UT Austin announced today to all their fine young scholars that the Texas department of safety has decided Mexico should not be on the destination list for Texas students. Mexico breathed a collective sigh of relief as both narcotic crime and sexual assaults will all drop off with the absence of the fine young scholars. Meanwhile, back in safe-n-sane Texas, a man walked into Wal-Mart this weekend with two guns (I heard AK-47 on the local news) and started a shoot out. This follows months of church burnings south of Dallas and a tax protester smashing a plane into an IRS building in Austin. Besides, fine young scholars will be safer here, in Texas, from all that Mexican debauchery.

Latin Americans, on the other hand, are perfectly safe when they come to Texas. Just ask Jaqueline Saburido (below) who had a great time in Austin, TX.

Menonitas, Mormons, Water Rights, and Crime

Excelsior is reporting that the Mennonites in Chihuahua are starting to feel the pinch of security problems. The coverage is fairly pithy, but here is the video link. CBC carried out a fairly melodramatic mini series about Mennonites and crime (two years ago?) called The Mennonite Mafia. Of course Mennonites have been involved in drug smuggling and the like for some time (ahem, shameless self promotion of my chapter in Martin Nesvig's edited volume on religion in Modern Mexico).

Having been in Chihuahua in May, my larger concern with the Mennonites is more environmental. Seems that there are sections of Chihuahua where there is VERY strict control on drilling wells. Turns out the Mennonites punch wells anyway and then simply pay the fine: They make more on the crops than what the fine costs them.

Water has always been an issue in Chihuahua, but the tension is growing. Ejidatarios, so abusive of their own land, are spilling on to land held by the Mormon Colonists near Colonia Juraez. Last may I met one Mormon farmer who was set to give up his land until a narcotraficante neighbor decided that it was best to have a Mormon buffer between him and the ejidatarios. The squatters were paid a visit (no gun play) by the traficante and the next day the land claim was withdrawn and the squatters were gone.

Water, space, drug violence, religious colonists, etc.... Chihuahua was so much like the Montana that I grew up in I was completely won over by the idea of looking at areas in history according to watershed and rain similarity.

And incidently...the famous Mormon apple orchards are giving way to peaches, pecans and apricots. Climate change, baby.