Mexico Has a Leader in Troublesome Times - President Felipe Calderon

It's no surprise that Mexico's President Felipe Calderon has political problems. First, his main political backer, the National Action Party (PAN), doesn't control the national legislature but must negotiate with either the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which is slightly more amenable, or the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which is headed by Calderon's fierce and unforgiving rival in the 2006 national election, Andres Lopez Obrador. Second, the relatively stable economy inherited in 2006 is being buffeted by the global recession and accompanying credit crisis. Additionally, oil revenues for the state-owned monopoly Pemex are declining, and funds for urgently needed exploration and drilling in the Gulf of Mexico are impossible to find. Third, the President's much heralded effort to root out the drug trafficking cartels has led to a frightening escalation in violence not only along the northern border with the U.S. but elsewhere in the country.

In fact, the drug war has produced significant changes in the country since Calderon came to power. For one thing, the army has been deployed in cities along the border to assist local police forces devastated by loss of personnel due to cartel targeting or due to suspension or incarceration on corruption charges. Murder and kidnapping continue unabated, however, and the public outcry is growing louder. Recently, mass rallies were held in the capital, Mexico City, and in other urban centers around the country to protest the violence. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice even paid a two-day visit in October to discuss ways to help. A major aid package featuring surveillance equipment and military training, known as the Merida Initiative, is under consideration in the U.S. Congress.

Another recently noticed change is the emerging problem of drug addiction in Mexico, which is no longer merely a transit country for the drug mafia. Kidnapping for ransom to fund purchases of weapons and drugs has become almost commonplace, with wealthy individuals hiring bodyguards, opting for lower profiles, or choosing to move north of the border for more security. Still, the president's popular support remains strong as he strives to disassociate public service from the corrupting influence of the drug traffickers. The price is high as even top military, police, and government officials have been threatened and killed in recent months.

In addition to the problems posed by drugs and guns crossing the border between Mexico and the U.S. is the controversial issue of immigration, legal and otherwise. U.S. plans to increase the number of Border Patrol agents and to build fences are viewed more as irritating factors than as solutions. In February Calderon visited Latino immigrant associations in the U.S. to demonstrate his interest in immigration reform; unusually, on that occasion, the President did not visit with high U.S. officials.

Dealing with complex political, social, and economic problems is what leadership is all about. One excellent contemporary example of how it's done is close to home, just across the border, down Mexico way.

"Mass anti-crime rallies in Mexico" BBC New Online

Laurence Iliff, "Rice visits a Mexico fatigued by drug violence" Dallas Morning News

Marcela Sanchez, "U.S.-Mexico cooperation can improve", Fresno Bee

"Calderon foresees a friendlier U.S.", Los Angeles Times

James C. McKinley, Jr., "Drug Trade, Once Passing By, Takes Root in Mexico", New York Times

Marc Lacey, "For More of Mexico's Wealthy, Cost of Living Includes Guards," New York Times

Lisa Viscidi, "Mexico's PRI rejects downstream opening", The Oil Daily