NCJ Number
174688
Journal
Security Journal Volume: 11 Issue: 2-3 Dated: December 1998 Pages: 185-189
Date Published
1998
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This analysis of increased drug trafficking along the border between the United States and Mexico contends that the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) coincided with political liberalization and democratization in Mexico and that these developments have had important ramifications for law enforcement along the border.
Abstract
Mexico made efforts to democratize the political system both before and after the signing of NAFTA in 1993. Electoral data suggest that the liberalization that began a decade before NAFTA was accelerated by this agreement, particularly in the Mexican states that border with the United States. In addition, policies that the Mexican government initiated to assure passage of NAFTA in the Canadian Parliament and the United States Congress have resulted in important consequences for the illegal drug trade, immigration, and social unrest in Mexico. Direct impacts have occurred in the border region, where the newspapers on both sides of the border extensively report cases of corruption of police and border agents. Further quantitative research is needed to examine the linkages between political and economic liberalization and their effects on crime. Tables, footnotes, and 15 references