InfoAnda - Analysis: Mexican ex-presidents lead debate on legalizing drugs |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Air strike kills al Qaeda cell leader in Afghan north | | 16 August 2010
Facebook ban of breast-feeding photos sparks protests | Technology | | 30 December 2008
Greek finance minister Venizelos set to be Socialist leader | | 12 March 2012

Iran says may stop oil sales if sanctions tighten | | 23 October 2012

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Analysis: Mexican ex-presidents lead debate on legalizing drugs |

Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Full Focus Photos of the week Our top photos from the past week. Full Article Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Casey Anthony's brother says family mum on her pregnancy 2:41pm EDT Data points to underlying factory strength | 3:13pm EDT Loss of Libya oil bigger disruption than Katrina: IEA 9:28am EDT Sarkozy says Europeans "doing the work" in Libya | 9:55am EDT Oil dives to 4-month low as emergency stocks unleashed | 23 Jun 2011 Discussed 206 Biden deficit-cut talks hit impasse: Rep. Cantor 136 CBO sees government benefits swamping U.S. economy 67 Fragile economy pushed Obama to tap oil reserves Watched Hefner's revenge; Ryan Reynolds stops traffic Fri, Jun 17 2011 Airbus A380 damaged at Paris Air Show Mon, Jun 20 2011 Airbus' view of flying in the future Mon, Jun 13 2011 Analysis: Mexican ex-presidents lead debate on legalizing drugs Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Obama moves toward exit from Afghanistan Wed, Jun 22 2011 Mexico captures "La Familia" drug boss Tue, Jun 21 2011 Seven protesters killed in Syria during rallies Tue, Jun 21 2011 Miss California, a history buff, named Miss USA Mon, Jun 20 2011 Mexican teenage girls train as drug cartel killers Fri, Jun 17 2011 Analysis & Opinion War on drugs produced swollen prisons and little else Unemployment is the real price of war Related Topics World » United Nations » Mexico » Police officers stand at a crime scene in Monterrey June 23, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Tomas Bravo By Dave Graham MEXICO CITY | Fri Jun 24, 2011 12:27pm EDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Once praised lavishly by the United States for waging a war on drugs, Mexico's last two presidents now say legalizing them may be the best way to end the rising violence the U.S.-backed campaign has unleashed. Ernesto Zedillo and Vicente Fox led efforts to crush drug trafficking gangs in Mexico between 1994 and 2006 but the rapid escalation of violence over the past four years under President Felipe Calderon has convinced them a change of tack is needed. "As a country, we are going through problems due to the fact that the United States consumes too many drugs," the 68-year-old Fox told business leaders in Texas last month. "I would recommend to legalize, de-penalize all drugs." Though public support for some legalization is growing on both sides of the border, resistance is firmly entrenched in the U.S. government and analysts say Mexico is very unlikely to liberalize its drug laws without Washington's approval. Calderon is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He has staked his reputation on breaking the cartels and is unlikely to press for radical change in what remains of his presidency but the death toll is surging and Zedillo, Fox and other former Latin American leaders are pressuring Mexico to consider opening up the market. Victims' families are adding to the clamor for change. Calderon has begun to soften the hard-line rhetoric that won him allies in Washington, stressing his readiness to discuss the merits of drug legalization. "I'm completely open to this debate. Not just on consumption, but also on movement and production," he told a meeting with victims' families in Mexico City on Thursday. But he added: "This issue goes beyond national borders. If there's no international agreement, it doesn't make sense." Since he sent the army to fight the cartels in late 2006, some 40,000 people have died. If the rate of killing persists, the total will surpass U.S. combat deaths in the Vietnam War by the time a new president is elected in mid-2012. The United States was still fighting in Vietnam when President Richard Nixon first declared a "war" against drug trafficking and consumption. Forty years on, more and more statesmen who have followed its course say the fight against the cartels cannot be won by force either. Zedillo was among the former Latin American leaders on the Global Commission on Drug Policy which this month concluded the drugs war had failed, urging Mexico and others to explore regulation as a means of weakening the criminal gangs. NEW RACKETS Calderon insists his strategy has weakened the cartels and that the capture of many prominent drug bosses has reduced the threat that organized crime posed to the state. But the violence has shocked many Mexicans and hit support for Calderon and his conservative National Action Party, or PAN. Polls suggest the PAN will be ousted at the presidential election in July, 2012 by the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. The PRI has pilloried Calderon for the growing lawlessness, though it has yet to offer any radical alternative to defeating the drug gangs, whose interests during the crackdown have grown to encompass a host of new rackets. The expansion of criminal activity has even prompted those who back decriminalizing soft drugs -- such as Mexico's Green Party -- to question how much legalization would achieve. "Do you think the drug bosses will suddenly turn into normal businessmen? Of course not, they'll just turn to other sorts of crime like robbery, kidnapping and extortion," said Arturo Escobar, a member of the Greens in the Senate. Mexicans have long been skeptical about legalizing drugs but the country has decriminalized possession of small amounts of soft and hard drugs under Calderon, and sympathy for a more liberal tack has grown as the violence intensifies. A national survey in August 2010 by daily Reforma showed 32 percent of Mexicans in favor of legalizing personal use of marijuana. Barely two years earlier, in October 2008, support for legalization was just 7 percent, pollster Parametria said. Support in the United States now stands at 46 percent, according to a Gallup poll published on October 28. Yet despite support from some libertarians, a recent shift to the right in U.S. politics has made it tough to sell the idea before a 2012 presidential vote in both countries. "If Mexico legalized, the U.S. Congress would use every piece of pressure it has to oppose them," said Rodolfo de la Garza, a political scientist at Columbia University. "We will hit them economically. We will start messing with NAFTA. We will hammer them on migrants. Much more than we are already." Drug demand is driven by the United States, and Fox this month stepped up calls for legalization, arguing that Washington's $1.4 billion in drug war aid was nothing but a "tip" in compensation for Mexico's losses in the war. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says the global drugs trade is worth hundreds of billions of dollars and in 2009 a top official at the agency said traffickers' cash had helped prop up the banks during the financial crisis. Legalizing drugs would generate some $88 billion a year in savings and tax revenue for U.S. federal and state governments, according to Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron. As long as public budgets remained stretched, pressure is likely to grow on governments to regulate the market, said Daniel Okrent, the author of "Last Call - The Rise and Fall of Prohibition," a study of the era of U.S. alcohol prohibition. "Prohibition ended because of The Depression. The federal government was in desperate need for cash and the country needed jobs," said Okrent. "This and the unwillingness to pay taxes is one of the reasons why there will be legalization." (Editing by Kieran Murray) World United Nations Mexico Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Social Stream (What's this?) © Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Analyst Research Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service Reuters on Facebook Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Saturday, 25 June 2011
Hezbollah says finds three spies within group |
Venezuela's Chavez reappears on Twitter from Cuba |
Pakistan army rejects report on bin Laden's cellphone |
Argentine heirs hope DNA test ends identity fight |
Auction to Sell Princess Diana's Dresses
OK-Rod with possible trade: Mets closer also willing to be set-up man
EU leaders give conditional go-ahead to Croatia entry |
U.S. economy grew at tepid 1.9% during first quarter
Analysis: Mexican ex-presidents lead debate on legalizing drugs |
EPA criticized for overriding state discretion on water quality
"Columbo" star Peter Falk dies at 83
Analysis: Do leaderless revolts contain seeds of own failure? |
Jim Renner in front by one stroke at Travelers Championship
Georgia-based group erects controversial anti-abortion billboards in Oakland, California
Curtis Stone, Lindsay Price expecting their first baby
Lakers' Ron Artest files for name change; seeks "Metta World Peace"
White House readies for tough choices on budget talks with lawmakers
Google says probing search companies market practices |
Hackers attack Electronic Arts website |
Proxy advisor urges RIM CEO/chairman roles be split |
Obama launches technology partnership to spur jobs |
Kleiner Perkins weighing fund targeting the cloud |
Venezuela's Chavez reappears on Twitter from Cuba |
Columbo actor Peter Falk dead at 83 |
Hang on Snooki. MTV denies recasting Jersey Shore |
Cars 2 star Eddie Izzard plans political career |
Sad songs bring joy to bluegrass star Alison Krauss |
Syrian forces kill 15 protesters, activists say |
Released Chinese artist-activist Ai's associates freed |
Amateur Cantlay seizes lead at Travelers Championship; shoots remarkable 60
Yani Tseng maintains one shot lead at Wegman's LPGA championship
Egyptians injured in clashes over Mubarak's fate |
Keith Olbermann speaks out on Gay Marriage
Peter Frampton files for divorce
Not ready for return: Yanks, Jeter play it safe with shortstop's calf ailment
Tunisia joins international war crimes court |
John Huston shares lead at Dick's Sporting Goods Open in senior debut
Vietnam to switch to lethal injection for death penalty |
Usher wants Pippa Middleton for his Lingerie Line
Phils pitcher Roy Oswalt faces uncertain future due to injury
Royal Wedding Raises Over a Million for Charity
Google investors fear long battle against Feds |
Heidi Klum Bares It All in Project Runway Ad
Foursquare raises $50 million in new round |
Has Renren suffered enough from China stocks phobia? |
Missy Elliott says Graves' disease not so grave |
Jerry Lewis briefly hospitalized in Sydney |
Bollywood stars cast spell over Toronto |
NATO says hit military targets in Libya's Brega |
At least 20 killed in suicide bombing in east Afghanistan |
Egypt court sentences ex-trade minister to 5 years in jail |
Afghan MPs hit back over court ruling |
Five Pakistani policemen killed in Taliban attack |
Oilers add playmaker, scorer Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as No. 1 overall draft pick
Russian oligarch elected head of pro-Medvedev party |
Ryan Couture suffers upset loss at Strikeforce Challangers
Two Puntland soldiers decapitated
Arkansas turkey hunt remains closed; appeal rejected on procedural grounds
Analysis: More history ahead for Patrick Cantlay at Travelers Championship?
Ex-Ukraine PM says court action targets opposition |
Takuma Sato first Japanese driver on IndyCar pole at Iowa
Joey Logano road-races way to Infineon pole
Dozens march for freedom in Saudi Arabia: YouTube |
Venus forges rematch vs. Pironkova; Wozniacki advances, Roddick falls
Armenia, Azerbaijan blame each other for Karabakh failure |
U2 pass festival test, critics say, despite tax row |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01