South Of The Border: Mexico Goes Further South

The level of corruption in Mexico continues to amaze me. No, I didn’t say “surprise me.” Nothing seems to be surprising anymore as our neighbor to the south continues to fight an orgy of violence, corruption, and economic deprivation, all of which spills over into the United States one way or another. But the creativity of that corruption is shocking.

Now come reports that the Mexican Immigration Institute (INM), the government body that is supposed to be dealing with, well, immigration, matters, is populated with people who are working with criminal gangs. As they catch Central Americans on their way illegally to the United States, they don’t return them home but rather than hand them off to criminal gangs who turn them into drug couriers. In Tamaulipas alone, 7 officials have been identified for handing immigrants over to criminal gangs. In response, the Mexican government has decided to subject 1,500 INM employees in six states to “psychological reviews, as well as drug and lie detector tests.” For some reason I’m rather doubtful this will amount to much of anything.

Mexico has been able to avoid larger social disintegration due to revenue from oil production. But Mexican oil production is in decline. We worry about the fate of Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan, and Iraq which are half way around the world–as we should. But we may soon be facing widespread unrest, violence, and social dislocation closer to our border.