In an interview with El País published today, members of the Mexican youth political movement #YoSoy132 weighed in on U.S.-Mexico relations. To the question of what both countries should do about the problem of drug trafficking, member Alina Rosa told the newspaper that the United States' cooperation with Mexico in former President Felipe Calderón's drug war had become an excuse for the northern power to intervene in Mexico's sovereignty.
#YoSoy132 first formed as a show of support for 131 students at the Universidad Iberoamericana who protested current President Enrique Peña Nieto's appearance there. Peña Nieto was governor of the state of Mexico during the 2006 unrest in the town of San Salvador Atenco, where police were sent in to a protest over a government plan to expropriate local peasants' lands to build a new international airport. Two protestors died and 200 were arrested; investigations into the case by NGOs found police used excessive force, with some activists being tortured and at least 26 women sexually abused during the police operation. When students at the university booed, heckled and waved banners with derogatory language at Peña Nieto, the then-candidate stood by his decision to authorize the use of force by the police, although he also condemned the use of excessive force in the case of certain officers.
In the interview with El País, Rosas also said that the problem of drug trafficking was one that should be treated as a health problem, not one of security, in order to "[generate] the growth of social policies and not military ones."
Another member of the youth movement, Nahum Pérez, said when asked about what the United States should do to modernize relations with Mexico that it should approve "the fairest immigration reform for all undocumented, discriminated and poorly paid workers who perform jobs that the citizens of that country rarely do." Pérez also suggested that the North American Free Trade Agreement should also be revised, especially the provisions of it which took away state protection of small agricultural producers in Mexico.
The comments come as U.S. President Barack Obama met with Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto today to discuss the future of relations between the two powers. Under Calderón's leadership, links had grown stronger than perhaps ever before, with the United States lending the Mexican government drones and otherwise collaborating on intelligence. Peña Nieto has pledged to change tracks against drug trafficking by shifting from a U.S.-backed strategy of taking down kingpins to one focused more on keeping Mexican streets safe. 70,000 people have died in violence related to the drug wars in the last six years, according to government figures.
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