California Lowers Its Guard

California — a state that, on its own, forms the eighth largest economy in the world — is also one of the globe’s largest consumers of drugs and one of the states that asks for the fewest requirements for gun sales. Despite knowing all of that, Gov. Jerry Brown, in an attempt to reduce the budget for the 2012 fiscal year, decided to eliminate funding for local police anti-narcotics task forces.

Theoretically, actions to combat drug trafficking will not disappear, given that municipal governments will try to compensate for the decrease. Nevertheless, the penetration of Mexican organized crime in various locales close to the border — which has forced mayors and governors to ask for federal help — displays the imprudence of such an action and the lack of seriousness with which some state governments in our neighbor to the north confront this problem.

The United States displays the ambiguity of its own drug discourse by demanding that the rest of the world maintain a punitive focus in the global fight against drug trafficking while its most populated state decides to abandon its armed force dedicated to the fight against trafficking. In this way, the U.S. gives credence, by virtue of its actions, to those who argue that trying to stop an economic phenomenon through police measures is a stale strategy.

Perhaps what the governor of California does not foresee is that in Mexico and in the United States itself, there are examples where leaving the problem untouched or reducing police action does not lead to a solution on its own.

The attorney general in Texas has had to ask for help from the Obama administration, as that state faces an increase in violence and the number of confrontations with local, state and federal authorities in cities close to the Mexican border. “Over a year ago, I wrote to you warning of the increasing threat of cartel-related violence spilling across our border with Mexico,” wrote Attorney General Greg Abbott. Such violence is unprecedented, especially since the second largest military installation in the nation is located in El Paso.

California’s decision must not be seen solely as a problem for the United States. Organized crime is transnational, and if it is not attacked with the same force in all the countries where it operates, then it will never be eliminated. It is in this sense that Mexico continues to hope for full responsibility on the part of its negligent northern neighbor.