
President Enrique Pena Nieto has now drawn a line. He has issued a 10-point package that lays emphasis on the eradication of corruption at the municipal level, and transferred the responsibility for municipal policing to the federal level. He vows to combat human rights violations by the security forces and to dissolve local institutions that have been infiltrated by criminals. The actors and culture are different but the scenario is uncomfortably close to that which prevails in Pakistan, where large armed groups challenge the writ of the state, criminals control significant areas of a major city, and the police and security forces are deeply corrupt from top to bottom. Civil administrations reek of corrupt practice with men and some women unacquainted with the words ‘truth’ and ‘honesty’. The significant difference is that the Mexican president has owned a Mexican problem. He has not tried to palm off the blame elsewhere, and has pointed the finger directly and unequivocally at those identified as the problem even though their primary task is identified as being part of the solution. Would that our own leaders had half that courage.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2014.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ