Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera's paper "Border Violence, the (Mis)use of Media, and Border (Mis)management:The Media Spectacle of the so-called “War on Drugs”

Miércoles, 07 Septiembre 2011
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"It is not quite clear that recent U.S. border security measures have been effective in solving the problems that led to their creation. It is not clear that such measures have prevented (or will prevent) illegal immigration. It is not clear whether the U.S. certainly needs to implement these policies, or if the media spectacle of drug violence has been utilized only to advance particular interests or political agendas."

Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera’s "Border Violence, the (Mis)use of Media, and Border (Mis)management:The Media Spectacle of the so-called “War on Drugs”* analyzes how media manipulation has fostered aggressive immigration policy and interventionist strategies from the United States' political actors. It sheds a light on the elusive discussion of how the media treats facts, or even if it is indeed telling the whole story. Outdated beliefs, nevertheless, are not uniquely imputable to U.S. Republican politicians advancing aggressive anti-immigration agendas.

There is a common misconception even among thoughtful citizens, which often worry about narcoterrorists in México, even though it is clear to them that drug trade organizations (DTOs) are essentially capitalists and largely apolitical. If they are to show a preference, the DTOs, it is for the political party or politician which allows them to function. What they truly care about is the revenue from their criminal activities, and its continuance. This could point to a serious lack of media critique during the past years pertaining Mexican issues, which are often perceived as ‘exotic’ or alien, even though Mexican culture is embedded . If there is no depth in the way Mexico is portrayed, it is not surprising that audiences tend to equate the terms drugs + violence + Latin American country with narcoterrorism, which was one of the drug market/political phenomena of the very visible case of Colombia.

Cabrera-Correa deals very closely with how the way facts are tweaked in order to further effectist electoral platforms and how these media products fuel the spillover violence myth. Though nothing is black and white and there may be indeed some Mexican drug violence which ‘seeps’ through the borders, it is never as upsetting as it sounds, and the magnitude shown in the press is false.

The paper is unique in the way it links situationist Guy Debord’s concept of the society of spectacle to the 'War on Drugs'. The author demonstrates there are huge performances aided by the media both in Mexico and the United States, each one dependent upon the other. The acts aim to portray the situation as reckless, untameable, unsolvable, and of course, in need of a greater use of force and U.S.’s intervention. This theatricality is crucial to understanding what feeds the need for repressive actions on both sides of the border.

The article is of essential readership to all those of us who are wondering why is the United States plotting more interventionist strategies and mistreating immigrants, rather than addressing some of the pending development issues here in Mexico to deal with the causes of drug-related violence and migration instead of only with its effects.

* the paper was presented at the 24th Annual Meeting Annual Meeting of the of the Public Administration Theory Network (PAT Public Administration Theory Network) at Norfolk, Virginia on May 19-22, 2011.

Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera is an expert on Mexican politics and drug trafficking. She has authored several articles and books on these subjects. Guadalupe Holds a PhD. and an MPhil. in Political Science from the New School of Social Research and a B.A. in Economics from Universidad Iberoamericana. She is currently Assistant Professor of the Department of Government in the University of Texas at Brownsville, Southmost College and also finishing a book on how Nuevo León and Tamaulipas fell to drug violence since before the ‘official’ declaration of a War on Drugs in Mexico.

Posted by Cordelia Rizzo

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