Video-On-Demand via De Balie TV + De Balie Vimeo. How can we stop this violence, as long as the world continues to crave a high? In large parts of Mexico the state has been failing. High levels of corruption and impunity have enabled drug cartels to get hold of local shadow-economies, natural resources and even people’s hearts. The international community tends to view this extreme violence and impunity as the ‘collateral damage’ of an unstoppable drug trade between USA and Mexico. But is this true? How far does the influence of the narco reach into the rest of the world? What makes Mexico’s case so different from other (former?) mafia states like Russia and Colombia? During this program the audience becomes acquainted with the many faces of the narco infiltration and state capture beyond the mediatized stereotype. In a series of interviews and reports, the economic, judicial, social, historical, cultural and even religious roots of the narco are revealed – forming a nuanced and complex picture of Mexico’s current safety crisis. Professor Edgardo Buscaglia explains how organized crime makes use of ‘pacts of impunity’ and other power vacuities within weak states with a feeble rule of law. He points towards 26 fundamental measures and 'out of the box' solutions that need to be taken in order to stop Mexico’s downward spiral of violence and corruption. Edgardo Buscaglia is a Senior Scholar in Law and Economics at Columbia University (NY, USA), the Director of the International Law and Economics Development Centre and the President of the Institute for Citizens Action in Mexico. He is an internationally renowned expert in the field of economic and judicial analysis of organized crime and associated corruption. He studies the impact of legal and judicial frameworks on economic development, initially in Latin America and since 2000 worldwide. He has advised 114 countries and has often served as an anti-corruption advisor for the UN. In his book "State Vacuums in México: A Path Towards Human Security." (“Vacíos de Poder en México: El Camino hacia la Seguridad Humana”) he presents one of the most in-depth blueprints of Mexico’s current safety crisis. Other speakers:
Jan-Albert Hootsen, Dutch correspondent in Mexico City, reporting for Trouw, Newsweek, Vice, Vocativ, VPRO and the Groene Amsterdammer.
Dr. Jose Carlos Aguiar, director Latin American Studies in Leiden University and forms part of the research group 'Popular Cultures of Illegality'.
Prof. Dr. Wil Pansters, professor of Latin American Studies and Director of Mexico Studies Centre, University in Groningen, and professor of Social Science, Utrecht University.
Dr. Damián Zaitch, associate professor at the Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology, Utrecht University.
Carrie Comer is the Permanent Representative to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). Trained in Anthropology (Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala) and International Law (Oxford University). Moderator: Edwin Koopman Curated by Erika Sprey and Insha Klinkenberg [Club Interbellum] You can watch The Mexican Connection live at live.debalie.nl