Overview
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ASSIGNMENT: Please respond to the classmate’s discussion post below:
Hailey Smallwood:
Mexico’s drug war through a globalization lens, can only be linked to the United States. The PBS video on what caused Mexico’s drug war explains how violence escalated after the Mexican government cracked down on cartels in the mid-2000s, especially under President Calderón. Instead of eliminating the problem, breaking up major cartels actually fragmented them into smaller, more violent groups competing for territory. That shows how simply using military force doesn’t remove the economic structure that allows cartels to thrive. The world-systems theory and uneven development, projects that the U.S. sits in the core of the global system, while Mexico often operates in a semi-peripheral position. When there is high U.S. demand for drugs, weapons flowing south across the border, and massive profit margins, the cartels become embedded in the global economy. The YouTube clip about U.S. demand highlights that as long as Americans continue consuming drugs at high rates, there will always be financial incentive for cartels to exist. In that sense, the U.S. is not just a bystander; it is part of the economic engine driving cartel power.
The El Chapo trial also shows this contradiction. While his conviction was framed as a major victory, the PBS segment about his capture points out that removing one leader does not dismantle the system. Cartels function more like corporations within a global market. When one leader is removed, another steps in because the profit structure is still there. Globalization makes illicit markets operate similarly to legal ones, supply follows demand. There is also a political contradiction. One of the linked reports mentions allegations of U.S. agencies striking deals with cartels. Whether fully proven or not, even the perception of that reflects how complex and entangled state power can become with illicit markets.
If cartel power is going to be diminished, it cannot just be through arrests or military crackdowns. It would require reducing U.S. drug demand, stricter control of weapons trafficking from the U.S. into Mexico, economic investment that provides alternatives to cartel employment, and anti-corruption efforts within both governments. Treating drug use more as a public health issue instead of purely criminal might also reduce the profitability of the illegal trade. Overall, Mexico’s drug war was not caused by one single event. It grew out of global drug demand, political decisions, economic inequality, and militarized responses that intensified competition. Through a globalization perspective, the cartels are not isolated criminal groups; they are part of a transnational system shaped heavily by U.S. consumption, policy, and economic influence.