Mexican drug wars center of student discussion

The drug wars in Mexico drew a crowd to Huntsman Hall Saturday.

A diverse crowd of around 70 students and faculty members from Penn and beyond attended “Convergencias 2011” hosted by the Mexican Student Association at Penn.

The conference featured Senior United Nations Official Edgardo Buscaglia, President for the Center for Economic Research and Teaching in Mexico City Carlos Elizondo Mayer-Serra and Former Vice President of Costa Rica Kevin Casas Zamora, who addressed the current drug war policy in Mexico.

For about two hours, the speakers shared their knowledge and insights on the drug-related violence in Mexico – expanding on its cause and effects, analyzing the measures taken by the Mexican government, criticizing the United States’ role in the legalization of drugs, and assessing its global impact.

Buscaglia, stressed that “violence in Mexico is an organized crime” and one cannot understand the situation in its entirety “without understanding the political transition in the country.”

The speakers had contrasting views on the significance of President Calderon’s policy in the increase of drug violence in Mexico. However, they all reached a consensus that the state should not directly negotiate with the drug gangs to mitigate the situation.

College sophomore Wesley Skold, who attended the conference to learn about the issue, said the event was very informative. However, Skold also believed that “we can’t just keep the discussion at this level though. It should be more proactive.”

Kim Sharpe, a professor from Swarthmore College, disagreed, assessing that “the conference was very appropriate.”

There was also a general consensus of the overall impression of the speakers.

Temple University professor Arthur Schmidt criticized the speakers, saying he felt that the various strategies discussed avoided “the sort of centrality of repression and enforcement.”

Sharpe felt similarly, but credited the speakers for “answering the questions within the limits of what they might say publicly. They challenged a lot of the [existing] assumptions. It was a worthwhile event.”

Lorenzo Felipe Lagos, the treasurer of the MSA, said the purpose was to bring in a globally contentious issue to campus and instigate conversation within the community.

Overall, Rodriguez-Flores was surprised by the diversity in the audience, pleased that “people recognized that [this crisis] is not just a Mexican issue but an international one.”

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