Hugs, Not Bullets

Mexico’s Drug War, The Failure of Non-Violence, and a Possible Alternative

Ammunition shells lay on a pool of blood in a street of Culiacan, capital of Sinaloa, on October 17, 2019. Courtesy: Rashide Frias/AFP via Getty Images

In the waning months of 2019, two violent incidents shook Mexico — and the world with it.

On November 4th, gunmen opened fire on a convoy of SUVs, killing nine members of an American Mormon family that were traveling to a wedding. This incident occurred three weeks after the now infamous release of notorious cartel leader, Ovidio Guzman. After Guzman — son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” — was successfully apprehended in the state capital of Culiacan, hordes of cartel gunmen rampaged through the city’s streets until authorities capitulated and released Guzman later that day.

Following each incident, sitting Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was quick to defend his controversial “abrazos, no balazos” (hugs, not bullets) initiative in combating the country’s devastating drug war. Since assuming office in December 2018, AMLO has sought to curb the violence by redirecting efforts to tackling corruption and transferring money to more impoverished areas.

Unfortunately, with the drug war claiming the lives of 20,000 towards the end of his first full year in office, it comes as no surprise that AMLO’s true loyalties are now being called into question. As AMLO’s approach comes under fire, it…