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Dear Martha:

I am worried about the situation Mexico is going through. I was given the opportunity to live here in the U.S. but all of my family lives back in Mexico. Evert time I call them, things got worse and they keep asking me not to visit them, as that could be dangerous for me. I have worked really hard in this country and Ive been able to grow and economically help my family. I feel what is happening to them is not fair and I don’t know whether I should stay or go back to them.

—Torn Between Countries

Dear Torn Between Countries:

I believe most Mexican people who live in this country feel the same way. Going back would only make it worse, as you said you are economic support for them and probably they are very happy that you have the opportunities the U.S. offers them. Get in touch with them, tell them you love them and miss them and wish them better times may come soon. If you have spiritual beliefs, pray for them and have faith, this will sonn be over. Remember: No war can last one hundred years, or a town who could tolerate it.

[Photo By americanistadechiapas]

[Editors Note: The following is a press release from the Pew Hispanic Center.]

As the death toll continues to rise in Mexico’s drug war, a new survey by Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project finds that fewer than half (45%) of Mexicans say their government is making progress in its campaign against drug cartels; 29% say the government is losing ground and 25% say things are about the same as they have been in the past.

Still, an overwhelming majority (83%) continues to endorse the use of the Mexican army to fight drug traffickers, virtually unchanged in recent years. Moreover, many welcome U.S. help in training Mexican police and military personnel and providing money and weapons to Mexican police and military forces.

And while Mexicans broadly oppose the deployment of U.S. troops to combat drug traffickers in Mexico (38% support and 57% oppose), more now support this strategy than did so in 2010, when only about a quarter favored the deployment of U.S. troops in their country and two-thirds opposed it.

When asked who is most to blame for the drug violence in their country, more now say both Mexico and the U.S. are to blame than did so in recent surveys. About six-in-ten (61%) Mexicans blame both nations; 51% held this view in 2009 and 2010. Currently, 18% say the U.S. is mostly to blame and about the same percentage (16%) blame Mexico; a year ago, nearly twice as many said the U.S. was mostly to blame as named Mexico (27% vs. 14%).

The survey of Mexico, conducted between March 22 and April 7, also finds:

• U.S. Image: The image of the U.S. has rebounded somewhat since the passage of Arizona’s controversial immigration bill in April 2010, but it remains far more negative than it was prior to the law’s enactment.  Currently, a slim majority (52%) of Mexicans hold a favorable view of the U.S., while 41% express a negative opinion.
• Views of Life in the United States: Fewer than half (44%) of Mexicans now say people from their country who move to the U.S. have a better life than those who stay in Mexico. In 2009, nearly six-in-ten (57%) said this was the case. Most Mexicans (61%) say they would not move to the U.S. if they had the means and opportunity to do so, which is similar to 2009 findings.
• Biggest Problems Facing the Country: Mexicans most frequently name crime (80%) and cartel-related violence (77%) as very big problems. Roughly seven-in-ten (71%) see illegal drugs in the same light. Most (69%) also describe economic problems as a major challenge. Slightly smaller numbers place corruption (65%) and terrorism (62%) in this category. Just half say people leaving the country for jobs elsewhere is a major issue.
• Views of President Calderón and the National Government: Most Mexicans continue to say that President Calderón and the national government are having a positive impact on the country. Nearly six-in-ten (57%) say the president’s influence is good, while 54% give the national government a positive rating. Compared with two years ago, however, views of Calderón and the government have become increasingly negative.

The report, ”Crime and Drug Cartels Top Concerns in Mexico,” can be accessed on the Pew Research Center’s Pew Global Attitudes Project website.

The Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Global Attitudes Project are projects of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan, non-advocacy research organization based in Washington, D.C. and funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Somewhere between President George W. Bush announcing in 2007 that the U.S. would give México $1.4 billion dollars to fight drug cartels (Mérida Initiative) and now, just $362 million in equipment and aid have made it to Mexico. Red tape and bureaucracy are to blame, apparently, and border lawmakers are going to start investigating why.

Some of the stuff promised to México under this agreement: seven UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, training for police, judicial and law enforcement reforms, gamma ray scanners to see drugs and money in vehicles, and probably bribes, too, but that’s just my opinion.

All of this kind of fails before it begins because, quite frankly, there have been tens of thousands of deaths in México related to drug cartels since this “groundbreaking” deal was struck. Some Mexican journalists put the figure as high as 50,000 since President Felipe Calderón took office in 2006. And as Calderón helpfully pointed out (while taking the money), there’s no way you can stop the drug war without attacking the U.S.’s proclivity for using drugs and selling guns to the cartels.

So here we are, in the middle of a recession, with untold millions out of work and unemployment benefits, trying to figure out what happened to hundreds of millions of dollars we promised to a country to fix a problem we are a part of but don’t really want to do anything to solve — except throw money at it.

[Photo by CATR]

You may or may not have heard of Ponchi, the 14 year-old drug cartel assassin recently arrested in Mexico. The Chicago Tribune wrote up an interesting piece about how young people are increasingly being recruited by the cartels because of a lack of job and educational prospects:

“The virtually endless supply of young foot soldiers keeps the cartels well-stocked with thugs, gunmen, mules, peddlers and lookouts. As vulnerable kids fall through the cracks, Mexico risks losing part of a generation…About a million youths are considered at risk and easy prey for cartels, according to studies by the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. It is a precarious and probably short life. The young foot soldiers are little more than cannon fodder…Police and military officials say they are capturing a larger number of youths in operations against cartels.”

In addition to Ponchis, Mexican authorities have recently arrested people as young as 13, 14 and 17 in connection with drug-related deaths in that country.

[Photo By Break_visual]

I had an interesting Thanksgiving this year, not only did I get to hang out with my tía abuelita, but a cousin from Monterrey, Mexico was in town. He also invited a friend, a former magistrate from Colombia who fled to the U.S. after the rise of the drug cartels in that country.

My family, at least one side of it, came from Monterrey to the border and then to the Texas side of the border. I am familiar with some of the family that is left in Monterrey, but I had never met this cousin in particular. Let’s call him Checo.

I asked him what life was like for him and his family in Monterrey. How do you go outside knowing you could die on your next trip to the grocery store? His response surprised me and kind of scared me, and made me truly grateful for the sacrifices my family has made so that I could enjoy such a privileged life in this country. So, what’s it like living in Monterrey these days?

“Si te toca, te toca. Yo no voy a vivir en una jaula,” Checo said. Translated it’s something like, “If it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go. I’m not going to live in a cage.” The whole city lives in a tense state of nervous anticipation, wondering what streets will be blocked, whether they’ll be stuck in a gun fight between the cartels and military/police, whether they’ll come home.

What’s worse, he told me, is the paranoia of not knowing who’s working for whom. Street kids are starting to earn a living from the gangsters, who pay them and give them cell phones to let them know where the army or police are. They get paid for setting up the authorities, essentially.

But perhaps the scariest thing about living in Monterrey these days, according to Checo, is the knowledge that the government, authorities, institutions, police and army are completely powerless to put a stop to the violence. They are powerless, and so people like Checo, are the complete mercy of the cartels. I admired Checo’s frankness and refusal to hide, but as we’ve reported, the violence is getting closer and closer to our side of the border. If and when it gets here, I wonder what my attitude would be.

[Photos Courtesy NightRPStar; Esparta]