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By Tim Johnson, McClatchy Newspapers
MEXICO CITY — A debate about legalizing marijuana and possibly other drugs — once a taboo suggestion — is percolating in Mexico , a national exhausted by runaway violence and a deadly drug war.
The debate is only likely to grow more animated if Californians approve an initiative on Nov. 2 to legalize marijuana for recreational use in their state.
Mexicans are keeping a close eye on the vote, seeing it as a bellwether.
"If they vote 'yes' to approve the full legalization of marijuana, I think it will have a radical impact in Mexico ," said Jorge Hernandez Tinajero , a political scientist at the National Autonomous University .
Discussion about legalization flew onto the agenda last month, the outcome of President Felipe Calderon's pressing need to win more public support for waging war against criminal organizations profiting hugely from drug trafficking.
As he held a series of open forums with politicians and civic leaders about faltering security, Calderon suddenly found himself amid a groundswell of suggestions that legalization — which he described as "absurd" — should be considered.
Among those throwing their weight behind legalization was former President Vicente Fox , a member of Calderon's own conservative National Action Party .
"We should consider legalizing the production, distribution and sale of drugs," Fox wrote on his blog during the series of forums. "Legalizing in this sense does not mean that drugs are good or don't hurt those who consume. Rather, we have to see it as a strategy to strike and break the economic structure that allows the mafias to generate huge profits in their business."
Calderon immediately said Mexico couldn't act on its own to legalize.
"If drugs are not legalized in the world, or if drugs are not legalized at least in the United States , this is simply absurd, because the price of drugs is not determined in Mexico . The price of drugs is determined by consumers in Los Angeles , or in New York , or in Chicago or Texas ," he said.
Such public debate would have been largely unthinkable a few years ago. Since Calderon came to office in late 2006, however, a national gloom has descended on Mexico from unending cartel violence and a death toll topping 28,000. The grim mood has provided fertile ground for public figures who think that legalization would undercut the power of the drug cartels.
Among them are business tycoons such as billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego , who controls broadcaster TV Azteca, and retailer Grupo Elektra.
With his own pro-legalization statement, Fox aligned with another former president, Ernesto Zedillo , who suggested last year that prohibition isn't working.
Still, several analysts said debate about legalization — coming most strongly from the political left — was an attempt to needle Calderon as much as an exploration of whether legalization is feasible.
MEXICO CITY — A debate about legalizing marijuana and possibly other drugs — once a taboo suggestion — is percolating in Mexico , a national exhausted by runaway violence and a deadly drug war.
The debate is only likely to grow more animated if Californians approve an initiative on Nov. 2 to legalize marijuana for recreational use in their state.
Mexicans are keeping a close eye on the vote, seeing it as a bellwether.
"If they vote 'yes' to approve the full legalization of marijuana, I think it will have a radical impact in Mexico ," said Jorge Hernandez Tinajero , a political scientist at the National Autonomous University .
Discussion about legalization flew onto the agenda last month, the outcome of President Felipe Calderon's pressing need to win more public support for waging war against criminal organizations profiting hugely from drug trafficking.
As he held a series of open forums with politicians and civic leaders about faltering security, Calderon suddenly found himself amid a groundswell of suggestions that legalization — which he described as "absurd" — should be considered.
Among those throwing their weight behind legalization was former President Vicente Fox , a member of Calderon's own conservative National Action Party .
"We should consider legalizing the production, distribution and sale of drugs," Fox wrote on his blog during the series of forums. "Legalizing in this sense does not mean that drugs are good or don't hurt those who consume. Rather, we have to see it as a strategy to strike and break the economic structure that allows the mafias to generate huge profits in their business."
Calderon immediately said Mexico couldn't act on its own to legalize.
"If drugs are not legalized in the world, or if drugs are not legalized at least in the United States , this is simply absurd, because the price of drugs is not determined in Mexico . The price of drugs is determined by consumers in Los Angeles , or in New York , or in Chicago or Texas ," he said.
Such public debate would have been largely unthinkable a few years ago. Since Calderon came to office in late 2006, however, a national gloom has descended on Mexico from unending cartel violence and a death toll topping 28,000. The grim mood has provided fertile ground for public figures who think that legalization would undercut the power of the drug cartels.
Among them are business tycoons such as billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego , who controls broadcaster TV Azteca, and retailer Grupo Elektra.
With his own pro-legalization statement, Fox aligned with another former president, Ernesto Zedillo , who suggested last year that prohibition isn't working.
Still, several analysts said debate about legalization — coming most strongly from the political left — was an attempt to needle Calderon as much as an exploration of whether legalization is feasible.
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