Mexico Institute in the News: Amid drug war, Mexico homicide rate up for fourth straight year
Mexico Institute's Eric Olson provided commentary on this story about Mexico's homicide rate. This article was also published in UPI.com and on Hispanic Business.
Los Angeles Times, 8/22/2012
A study has found that Mexico’s homicide rate rose for the fourth year in a row in 2011, this time by 5.6% compared with the previous year -- a fact that will come as little surprise to Mexicans who continue to be bombarded each morning with the latest stomach-turning details of the country’s drug war.
What is less clear, however, is what the new numbers say about outgoing President Felipe Calderon’s controversial and nearly 6-year-old decision to deploy the military to battle the country’s entrenched drug-trafficking gangs.
The new homicide numbers “show that violence is still a really important issue,” said Eric Olson, associate director of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington.
“How [Peña Nieto] is going to seek to reduce violence is an open question, but it’s still a worthwhile priority,” he said.
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The Mexico Institute seeks to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship. A binational Advisory Board, chaired by Luis Téllez and Earl Anthony Wayne, oversees the work of the Mexico Institute. Read more
