Mexico’s President-Elect Vows To Change Drug War Strategy

Mexican President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto, seen at an October meeting in Paris, says he will change his country's drug war strategy. (AP/Christophe Ena)

Mexican President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto, seen at an October meeting in Paris, says he will change his country’s drug war strategy. (AP/Christophe Ena)

Mexico’s President-elect, Enrique Peña Nieto, will take office on Saturday and vows to change his country’s drug war strategy.

Outgoing President Felipe Calderón declared war on the cartels six years ago, and the fight has been devastating, claiming more than 40,000 lives.

Peña Nieto says he will downsize the federal police, which grew seven-fold under Calderon, but has been dogged by corruption allegations.

The BBC’s Will Grant reports.

BBC: Mexican president-elect Peña Nieto meets Obama

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We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

Arturo Rolland

War on drugs in Mexico has claimed almost 80,000 lives, not 40,000. As long as there’s demand for a product there will be supply. Simple as that. As with prohibition, the marihuana conflict has been devastating for the advancement of a peaceful society. Most drug related deaths have occurred outside U.S. borders, which is why the American public hasn’t paid enough attention to the issue. The U.S. federal government should follow the steps of Colorado and Washington states, legalize recreational marihuana with the required checks and balances, receive income from sales tax and use that money to educate the public about consumption and its consequences. Both the U.S. and Mexico would greatly benefit from this strategy. Mexico and Latin America would follow suit legalizing the drug. Most ordinary people in Mexico and Colombia support this view as they have lived in the flesh the horror of a drug lord infested society.

Sincerely,

AR
jen469

Mexico should not expect us to continue a costlly and failed drug policy, nor should we pressure Mexico to pursue the war on drugs. Rather both countries should bi-laterally stop prosecuting marajuana. If anyone in Mexico could grow it price & profit margin would collapse. I don’t condone use of drugs, but I’d rather see a few thousand people injure themselves by choice with drugs than see this outlandish death toll that is destroying the very fabric of society in Mexico.

The war we should all engage with is the war to destroy the psychopathic criminals who are terrorizing communities and murdering women. Not against some random biochemical agent. Which one of these is truly doing greater harm?
Mnmmolina

I lived in juarez for 16 years peñanieto is mad at the.legalization of marijuana because he is connected with the cartels and the PRI has always had that connection, why when the PAN came into power we had extreme violence in mexico,change of power the didnt have connections for. i think it should be legalized through the country and cut
That supply from the south of the border, peñanieto is a pupet and all of mexico knows it

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