While
the United States frames their
drug legalization debates around the still-news-hooky
premature demise and possible overdose of Whitney Houston, Central
Americans still have that whole cartel thing and that
particularly-literal war aspect to their drug problems.
Sometime next month, newly-elected Guatemalan President Otto
Perez plans to
propose legalization of drugs, including
the decriminalization of drug transportation, to other
Central American leaders.
It took Perez just one month in office to shift to calling for
drug legalization. The retired general ran for the presidency on a
platform of hard-line action against drug smuggling, but it seems
like the sheer force of the drug trade has changed his mind; 95
percent of all cocaine sales to the United States go through
Mexico, the most prominent and bloody face of the drug war, but 60
percent of them begin in central America.
The cartels, including the fearsome Zetas, are
really not
just in Mexico anymore. And like former
Mexican presidents Vincente Fox and Ernesto Zedillo, Perez can
clearly see that the policies which lead Mexico and Central America
towards this literal drug war are not working and are not helping
anyone. So why not legalize?
Perez recently met up with El Salvador's president, Mauricio
Funes, who at least was willing to talk legalization. According
to the Associated Press:
After returning to El Salvador, Funes said he personally doesn’t
support legalization because it would “create a moral problem,”
though he supports Perez’s right to bring up the issue for
consideration.
“Imagine what it would mean,” Funes said. “Producing drugs would
no longer be a crime, trafficking drugs would no longer be a crime
and consuming drugs would no longer be a crime, so we would be
converting the region in a paradise for drug consumption. I
personally don’t agree with it and I told President Otto Perez
so.
Hell, being open to discussing legalization means that Funes is
doing better than most U.S. politicians. But no matter how fast
things move towards legalization, it's always going to be too slow
for the people caught in the crossfire of this God damn unnecessary
war.
Reason on
the drug war; Mike Riggs on what legalization would and
wouldn't do when it comes to sapping
the cartels' power in Mexico.
Reason.tv on the drug war in Guatemala