Mexico and Narco-Trafficking

Modern Mexican Society In modern Mexico society, narco-trafficking, illegal immigration, and NAFTA are inter-woven. They all relate to trying to find the better life, trying to become richer, and trying to survive. To begin with, narco-trafficking is the term used to explain Mexico’s drug problem. Narco-trafficking, however does not only relate to Mexico, it does indeed include Asia, South America, and the United States. The major issue though for Mexico is the transfer of drugs across the Mexican-American border. Both the United States and Mexico have tried to stop this issue for years but have found it unstoppable. There is a drug organization with different groups of people all in one called the Cartels. The Cartels include Tijuana, Sialoa, Juarez, Gulf, and Zetas. These groups are comprised of highly intelligent men who know the tricks to shipping and selling narcotics. They are a twenty-five billion dollar Mexican industry. Twenty million Mexicans are living off of making under three dollars a day. The difference between three dollars a day and a twenty-five billion dollar industry is huge. The Cartels are a huge money income into Mexico. However, the United States’s drug demand is between fifty and fifty-five percent of the drug world market. Such a high demand leads to a sufficient supply. The United States’s demand has led Mexico to be one of the biggest drug distributers in the world. Therefore, that is why narco-trafficking is such a huge issue. Every day the Cartels are trying to smuggle drugs across the border. Following narco-trafficking, illegal immigration is another issue in modern Mexico society. Since twenty million Mexicans are living in poverty, if they do not turn to selling drugs, then they turn to crossing the border. Not immigrants are illegal, however, there are many legal immigrants as well. About one million visas are given out to legal immigrants each year. This visas are given to those who have a legal family member in the states, those who are the intelligent and can fill unwanted jobs, and to insure cultural diversity in the states. However, in order to be legal, some have to wait up to eight to twenty-five years. Some Mexicans just do not have that long so they illegally cross the border. As years have gone by though, crossing the border has become harder and harder and almost close to impossible, yet still extremely possible. There are about twenty-five million illegal immigrants in the states today and about two million more each year. On some places along the border, there are border controls making sure immigrants do not pass. In these sections, there are Coyotes who are people that help immigrants pass the border at an expensive price. The coyotes receive about fifteen hundred dollars for each person that crosses. Illegal immigrating is similar to narco-trafficking in two ways. One because the coyotes also work with the Cartels, and two because they both include trying to illegally pass something across the border. Furthermore, there is NAFTA which is the North American Free Trade Agreement. This is an agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico to remove barriers in order to trade between the three countries. NAFTA was created to be a source of income. As a result of this, maquilladoras were set up in Mexico. These are American factories with a low paying wage. They actually benefitted the states more than Mexico. Inside these factories would be American technology with young Mexican workers. America would supply the materials, the products would be produced in these factories, and then the finals would be shipped back to America. America benefitted because they would receive tax free products and no pollution in their area, and the Mexicans had at least some sort of a paying job. Even though the jobs were low wage, some Mexicans were thankful for them. These maquilladoras definitely kept some illegal immigrants out of the states by giving them jobs in their own country. Therefore NAFTA helped illegal immigration in a way, but it also helped the drug scene. By NAFTA getting rid of some barriers to trade between countries, the drug scene took advantage of this and kept selling drugs. While the two countries were selling other goods, the Cartels would sneak in their drugs to cross the border. Other than boosting income by the trade of goods, NAFTA allowed drugs to be deftly transported between countries. I believe that Narco-trafficking, illegal immigration, and NAFTA all relate to the United States economy. If our economy is doing poorly, so are all of these. Not many Americans are going to be spending colossal amounts on drugs, illegal immigrants will not want to cross if there are not many job opportunities, and then lastly the United States is not going to have their usual high demand on goods. Without drug demand, job opportunities, and demands on goods, Mexico has a shortage on money. It is unbelievable how influencing the states are on Mexico. It is almost as if Mexico is a leach sucking off of the states. George W Bush even once promised to aid Mexico by paying them four hundred dollars a year looking to try to stop the drugs and immigrants. That only lasted for four years but still was some what of an attempt to help Mexican society. I believe that the U.S. should crack down more on drug usage within its own limits to suppress the drug demand to Mexico. Without as many Americans demanding drugs, Mexico will not supply as much. Also, I believe that the Arizona Law should be passed or more laws in its path to be able to ask for anyone’s passport of ID without probable cause. I know that is harsh and rude, but it will stop so many illegal immigrants from coming to America and can also kick them out. I do believe though that if an illegal immigrant is caught, they should be given the opportunity to prove that they are hard working and deserve to stay in the states. I understand that some people are out of luck and then come to the states and work hard and are able to turn their life around. I believe those people should stay but I believe we should deport those who are living off our expense. To help stop Mexico’s issues, the United States I believe should try harder to expunge the American drug users and to deport many immigrants.