Ah, elections, that golden era when candidates promise to solve all our problems with the simplicity of a catchy slogan. During the third presidential debate held on May 19, a phrase echoed with good intentions: “We are going to take young people out of their ties to criminal gangs and give them support.” Sounds fantastic, right? As simple as changing a light bulb.
But before we get excited about the nobility of these promises, let’s remember that elections are happening in a context of rampant violence. The country remains engulfed in a wave of organized crime that, for lack of a better term, has made all previous administrations seem somewhat incompetent. Dozens of political candidates have lost their lives just during the electoral process. Ah, democracy in action.
Criminal groups are not only persistent; they are ingenious. While some are modernizing with drug trafficking and money laundering, others are perfecting the art of extortion and forced disappearances. It’s almost as if we were talking about multinational crime corporations, always innovating, always one step ahead of the government.
When it comes to public security and fighting these organizations, the candidates’ proposals vary like a buffet of questionable options. Sheinbaum, leading the polls with her charisma and promises of a better future, proposes a series of measures as ambitious as they are vague. Social programs to prevent youth recruitment sound great on paper, but do we really believe that a carpentry workshop is going to compete with the million-dollar profits of drug trafficking?
Moreover, Sheinbaum wants to classify extortion as a serious crime. What a revelation! It’s almost as if no one had thought of that before. She also proposes strengthening coordination to attack the finances of criminal groups and establishing a new national security system. All this sounds very good, but it’s something like promising that this year we are finally going to get organized and stop procrastinating.
Expanding the capabilities of the National Guard and moving to military control is the crown jewel of this proposal. Because nothing says “trust in the population” like greater military control over public security. After all, what could go wrong?
Ah, and just look at how members of various cartels operate under the protection of AMLO’s party. In fact, the prosecution itself has arrested extortionists affiliated with Morena. So, while Sheinbaum proposes these magical solutions, her party seems to have more in common with criminals than with saviors. It’s like the fox promising to guard the henhouse.
In summary, Sheinbaum’s promises are a cocktail of good intentions and old tactics with a new packaging. Promising to take young people out of criminal gangs with social programs is as optimistic as pretending that a single glass of water can extinguish a forest fire. But, after all, we are in election season, where hope is sold at a premium and reality, sadly, tends to be much less exciting.