MEXICO: Beheading the Hydra

Professor Beatriz Magaloni tackles the question: Why has the strategy of taking out drug lords increased violence in Mexico?

Mexican drug cartels were on the rise when Felipe Calderón assumed the presidency in 2007. Drug-related violence was one of the country’s most serious security and social problems, and Calderón responded with an aggressive campaign designed to weaken the power of the cartels and regain government control over areas affected by drug trafficking. But all did not go as planned: by the end of Calderón’s six-year term, a massive increase in drug-related violence had left more than 55,000 people dead.