Center for Cross-Border Concerns
Since about 2006, the explosion of violence and drug trafficking in Mexico has surfaced and become part of the realities of the continent. However, in the United States this issue has too often been dismissed as an issue that belongs “south of the border,” assigning all responsibilities to Central and South America, without taking the time to look at the utter complexities that intertwine North America and Europe in this conglomerate of issues.
It seems that it is only in the light of statistics that people will acknowledge the complex flows of international borders. The Mexico/U.S border is not an exception. The line dividing these two countries, that for all practical purposes has been made into a static, untouchable line, is, whether anyone wants it or not, a permeable membrane, that is unavoidably affected by the elements and events on both of its sides. This has been shown with the ever increasing traffick of drugs to the United States and guns to Mexico. These co-dependent streams, are deeply rooted in the inner social, economic and political spheres of both of these countries and should be addressed as such.
Most likely out of neglect, the socio political situation of Mexico has been obscured to the average American citizen, despite their geographical proximity.
It is in this case with the aim of finding appropriate solutions to the matrix of issues surrounding us that we must acknowledge the role that all parties play within the conflict.
When trying to face difficult questions the answer lies less on imposing the burden on one side or another, or assigning guilt to either, but lie on constructing common, instead of isolated, nodes of information that show a certain degree of thoroughness and objectivity but more than anything a level of empathy and compassion in such endeavors.
