Benedicte Bull
is associate professor at the Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM), University of Oslo, and director of the Norwegian Latin America Research Network (NorLARNet). She holds a PhD in political science from the University of Oslo. She has previously worked as a consultant...
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In the shadows of globalisation: drug violence in Mexico and Central America
Benedicte Bull
, 19 December 2011
Mexico and the northern triangle of Central America (Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador) are currently experiencing a wave of violence with the dimensions of a humanitarian catastrophe. The apparent cause is the spread of the illegal economy, including drug smuggling, human trafficking and trade in weapons.
The particularly high levels of violence being experienced currently are caused by three developments: changes in the global drug market, the effect of the war against organised crime and the international financial crisis, making the problem not just a criminal one. Yet the consequences of these factors would not have been so serious had it not been for an increasing social exclusion related to the region’s transformation to a neoliberal economy. The economic interdependence with the U.S. has also led to an economic crisis that has further diminished the already limited possibilities for young, marginalised Mexicans to establish a dignified life through legal means. In this context, a life with access to money and protection in the criminal organisations appears attractive, in spite of it being brutal – and possibly short.
Although Mexico and Central America are far away from Norway, we are involved both as consumers of illegal goods and as participants in a global economy that for many does not offer other options for economic well-being than a life of criminality and extreme violence.
- This article was previously published in Bergens Tidende.
