GOP POTUS contenders want to invade Mexico

The top conetnders for the Republican presidential nomination all want to send the U.S. military into Mexico to shut down the drug cartels.

The Republican Primary Consensus for Sending the Military Into Mexico | Reason | Matt Welch:

May 24, 2023 - "When Sen. Tim Scott (R–S.C.) ... announced his 2024 presidential bid on Monday, the speech was predictably full of the upbeat, anecdotal, ain't-America-grand stuff that Scott, like generations of Republicans before him, has made central to his political career. Then things suddenly turned dark. 'When I am president, the drug cartels using Chinese labs and Mexican factories to kill Americans will cease to exist,' Scott vowed. 'I will freeze their assets, I will build the wall, and I will allow the world's greatest military to fight these terrorists'.... 

"Scott's bellicosity was no mere bolt from the blue. As Reason has been documenting for six years now, Republicans, even while otherwise souring on U.S interventionism abroad, have increasingly concluded that the alarming spike in domestic fentanyl overdoses would best be treated by sending the military into Mexico. Donald Trump first floated the idea, while he was president, of designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations — thereby allowing for extraterritorial prosecutions, enhanced investigative powers, and increased penalties for domestic drug-related crimes — in March 2019.... Trump himself in the summer of 2020 twice asked then–Defense Secretary Mark Esper whether 'we could just shoot some Patriot missiles and take out the labs, quietly,' according to Esper's 2022 memoir. Notable MAGA politicians Sen. J.D. Vance (R–Ohio) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R–Ga.) have both suggested violent interdiction south of the border, as have a bevy of more traditional hawks. There are a handful of escalatory bills bouncing around Congress.

"Open presidential primary contests, filled with hot air as they may be, are nonetheless useful X-rays of a political party's ideological heart.... So ... here are the top six 2024 GOP presidential candidates talking in their own words about using the U.S. military in Mexico to fight fentanyl-dealing drug cartels. Below that are some Reason arguments against merging the war on terror with the war on drugs.

Donald Trump.... 'When I am president, it will be the policy of the United States to take down the cartels, just as we took down ISIS and the ISIS caliphate,' the former president said in January. '[I will] order the Department of Defense to make appropriate use of special forces, cyber warfare, and other overt and covert actions to inflict maximum damage on cartel leadership, infrastructure and operations.'

Ron DeSantis.... 'Would you build the wall and would you use the military to go after Mexican drug cartels?' Florida's governor was asked at a press conference this month, replying, 'Yes, and yes.' He elaborated: 'The border should be shut down.... You do need to construct a wall.... We also have to come to terms with all the amount of fentanyl that's coming into our country.... You ... gotta go in and you gotta really go in with all guns blazing and using all the leverage that you have to be able to do it.'

Mike Pence.... 'The cartels are in operational control of our borders,' the former vice president said at a campaign stop in March.... "National security begins with border security. We need leadership that will secure the southern border of the United States of America as a priority.... Not only do you have this humanitarian crisis coming across, [there's] the impact on our economy, families, and communities, the flow of illegal drugs.... We have to have leadership willing to use American strength."

Nikki Haley.... 'When it comes to the cartels,' the former South Carolina governor said in March, 'you tell the Mexican president, 'Either you do it or we do it.' But we are not going to let all of this lawlessness continue to happen. And we can do that by putting Special Ops in there, by doing cyber, by really being strategic—just like we dealt with ISIS, you do the same thing with the cartels.'

Vivek Ramaswamy.... 'If the U.S. military has one job, it is to protect U.S. soil here in the United States, including the southern border,' Ramaswamy said in a March interview. 'And treating the cartels like terrorists doesn't just mean freezing their assets.... I think it means justified military force to decimate the cartels, Osama bin Laden–style, Soleimani-style.... And I think it's important to do it in…one cycle of aggressive shock and awe. And that solves the fentanyl supply-side problem.'"

Tim Scott .... Asked by NBC News to clarify his use-the-military comments in his announcement speech, Scott said: 'What we should do is whatever it takes to secure our southern border and stop the Mexican cartels from bringing fentanyl across the border.... Should we have more of a military presence on…our southern border? Obviously we should.... Should we say exactly what we're gonna do? Of course not."

Read more: https://reason.com/2023/05/24/the-republican-primary-consensus-for-sending-the-military-into-mexico/

US Army Strikes on Mexican Cartels is Worse Than You Think | Task & Purpose | May 23, 2023:

Mexico cuts food oversight to fight inflation

The Mexican government has cut food inspections by regulatory bodies as part of its plan to fight inflation.

Mexico inflation pact eases food oversight in 'goodwill' move | | Reuters - Adriana Barrera:

October 10, 2022 -'Mexico's move to exempt some foodmakers and retailers from quality checks from national health regulators as part of an anti-inflation plan to keep costs down is a 'goodwill' agreement, 

"President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday. Last week, Lopez Obrador and officials announced the plan made with companies such as Walmart's Mexico unit (WALMEX.MX) and tortilla maker Gruma (GRUMAB.MX). The plan also exempts them from paying import tariffs on food products.

"The agreement puts the responsibility on the signatory companies of ensuring that their imported products meet safety and quality standards. Finance Minister Rogelio Ramirez said it applied to all food products, not just basic foodstuffs, brought in by the companies.

"The measure, which must be published in Mexico's official gazette to take effect, has stirred discontent from competitors. It's also sparked concerns that the deal could violate a trade deal with the United States and Canada and may also allow crop and animal diseases to be brought in.

"'We have to ensure that food prices do not increase,' the president said in a regular news conference Monday, when asked about the weakened regulations. Lopez Obrador said the move was made to cut through bureaucratic red tape from regulators Senasica, Mexico's agricultural inspector, and Cofepris, a health regulator.

"All trade between Mexico and its main partner, the United States, has been tariff-free for years. Mexico also has trade agreements with several dozen other nations that include clauses slashing tariffs for agricultural products. If Mexico allows food products to enter from countries without such agreements, it could be in violation of existing treaties, experts say.

"'That's the punitive part,' said Rocio Ruiz, a former economy ministry official, regarding a potential trade agreement violation. 'In general, these treaties do prohibit you from discriminating against trade allies by giving such a benefit to national companies,' she said Monday at a forum organized by economic competition authority Cofece.

"Senasica has since said it was working with Mexican industry to protect food production and that it will redouble efforts to help importing firms avoid bringing in pests or diseases."

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-inflation-pact-eases-food-oversight-goodwill-move-2022-10-11/

Senate committees OK cannabis bill in Mexico

Mexico edges towards Marijuana Legalization | Grizzle - Martin Green:

March 7, 2020 - "Efforts to legalize marijuana in Mexico edged forward this week as draft legislation cleared three key committees in the Senate.

"A Supreme Court mandate had given lawmakers a deadline of Oct. 30, 2019 to legalize marijuana after declaring a ban to be unconstitutional. The government was handed a six-month extension after failing to agree a consensus, so it now has until April 30, 2020....

"This week the draft bill gained approval from the Senate committees of Justice, Health, Public Safety and Legislative Studies. The combined committees voted 26-7 in favour of the draft legislation.....

"The bill would permit Mexicans aged 18 and older to possess and cultivate marijuana for personal use. They would be able to grow up to 20 plants for recreational use, and more for medicinal use. It would also legalize commercial cannabis sales. A tax of 12% would be imposed, and some of that revenue would go towards substance abuse programs. The bill would also create a Mexican Institute of Regulation and Control of Cannabis to oversee licensing and regulation.

"The measure will now be debated and voted on next week in the plenary session of the Senate. If it gains approval, it would need to be ratified by the Chamber of Deputies and then enacted by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO). AMLO campaigned on a pledge to reform cannabis laws.... However, he has recently suggested that he is only in favour of medical marijuana legalization and not recreational use.

"In 2018, Mexico’s highest court ruled in favour of two complainants who said a ban [on] marijuana impinged upon their fundamental right to personal development. That meant the Supreme Court had made five rulings on this issue and therefore passed the threshold needed to create jurisprudence, setting a precedent that all Mexican courts must now follow. The Federal Commission for the Protection against Health Risks was ordered to allow the complainants ... to use cannabis for recreational purposes and all other courts must make identical rulings, meaning marijuana is essentially legalized in the country."

Read more: https://grizzle.com/mexico-marijuana-legalization-2/

Mexican Senate delays cannabis vote

Mexican Senate Committees Agree To Comprehensive Marijuana Legalization Bill | Marijuana Moment - Kyle Jaeger:

October 28, 2019 - "Several Mexican Senate committees have agreed to a marijuana legalization bill that they are submitting to the full body. But while lawmakers initially said a floor vote would come this week, the proposal is now being referred to a multi-party panel for consideration as leaders work to build a consensus around its provisions.

"Text of the legislation, which was released on Friday, outlines the proposed regulatory model, under which adults 18 and older would be allowed to use, possess and purchase cannabis from licensed retailers. Individuals could also grow up to four plants for personal use. The Justice, Health, Legislative Studies and Public Security Committees gave the legislation their approval....

"Sen. Ricardo Monreal, the ruling MORENA party’s leader in the Senate, said on Saturday that the legislation 'will be analyzed and deliberated' after the chamber passes a budget package this week. But on Monday, several Mexican news outlets reported that the bill will first go to the Senate Political Coordination Board, a body that’s designed to coordinate inter-party consensus on legislative proposals. Monreal, who serves as president of the board, said there will be a delay, but the intent is to create a 'finalized' product that puts 'economic and social interests' first. It’s not clear how long the panel will take to advance the bill to a floor vote....

"The bill as proposed by the joint committees includes restrictions on advertising and penalties for marketing marijuana to youth. Businesses could not sell cannabis products that contain tobacco or alcohol under the proposal, and packaging would have to be standardized and generic. Committee members agreed that an independent body, called the 'Cannabis Institute,' would be ... charged with issuing licenses for marijuana businesses, which would fall into one of four categories: cultivators, manufacturers, retailers and exporters/importers. Businesses could not hold more than one type of license. In order to repair the harms of prohibition, the committees agreed that 20 percent of licenses would have to go to low-income individuals....

"The draft measure also clarifies the legality of the use of peyote and psilocybin mushrooms in tribal ceremonies.

"The legislation was submitted nearly one week from the anniversary of a Supreme Court ruling that deemed the country’s prohibition on personal possession and cultivation of marijuana unconstitutional. Lawmakers have worked throughout the year to develop a policy that provides for cannabis regulation in a way that promotes public safety and mitigates the influence of cartels....

"It’s not clear exactly when the legislature will act on the committees’ agreed-upon legislation.... Sen. Margarita Valdez of the MORENA party said on Saturday that the Senate will discuss the legalization proposal this week but did not indicate a specific day."

Read more: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/mexican-senate-committees-agree-to-comprehensive-marijuana-legalization-bill/
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Cannabis legalization bill introduced in Mexico

Mexican Senator Files Marijuana Legalization Bill Ahead Of Supreme Court Deadline | Marijuana Moment - Kyle Jaeger:

September 3, 2019 - A Mexican senator introduced a bill to legalize marijuana on Tuesday ... just one month before a Supreme Court-imposed deadline to end prohibition. Sen. Julio Menchaca Salazar of the government’s ruling MORENA party filed the legislation, which would provide for the legal possession, cultivation and consumption of cannabis for personal use by adults.

"The legislation would amend two sections of Mexico’s federal drug laws and includes provisions concerning medical cannabis and the use of hemp in textiles, according to a press release.

"During a floor speech, Salazar, who is the head of the Senate Justice Committee, argued that prohibition has only played into the hands of criminal enterprises. He also pointed to state-legal marijuana markets in the U.S. as examples of effective regulatory schemes....

"The bill’s introduction comes a week after the Senate announced a new series of events meant to foster dialogue about the objectives and challenges of implementing a legal cannabis market. That includes a panel that will be led by a former Obama White House drug czar who once said that the word 'legalization' is not even in his vocabulary....

"While talk of legalization has been ongoing in Mexico, efforts to create and pass reform legislation have increased since the country’s Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that the ban on personal use and cultivation of cannabis is unconstitutional. Salazar said in April that lawmakers would be working on legalization legislation over the summer recess.

"President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration also backs legalization."

Read more: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/mexican-senator-files-marijuana-legalization-bill-ahead-of-supreme-court-deadline/
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Mexico to end adult-use cannabis ban in 2019

Mexican Lawmakers Plan To Tackle Marijuana Legalization This Summer | Marijuana Moment - Kyle Jaeger:

April 23, 2019 - "Mexican lawmakers will hash out the details of a marijuana regulation bill during the upcoming summer recess, with the goal of passing the legislation ahead of an October deadline, a key committee leader said.

"After the Supreme Court deemed the country’s ban on cannacig consumption, possession, and personal cultivation unconstitutional last year, the Senate was charged with amending the law to reflect that ruling.

"Julio Ramón Menchaca Salazar, head of the Senate Justice Committee, said that the body would 'take advantage of the recess period' to finalize the legislation, according to a newsletter posted on the Senate website on Sunday. The recess begins on May 1 and lasts until August 31, giving lawmakers several months to develop a regulatory plan for cannabis before the Supreme Court’s October deadline....

"Legalization legislation has already been introduced in the legislature, including a bill from Olga Sanchez Cordero, who as a senator filed a proposal last year to allow adults 18 and older to possess, consume and cultivate cannabis. But as of yet, it’s not clear what bill the Senate will move to advance....

"The Senate’s Health Commission held a hearing on marijuana reform earlier this month, with policy experts and lawmakers testifying about the prospect of a regulated marijuana market.... The hearing came one month after lawmakers from various political parties convened to begin the process of considering reform legislation.

"Last month, the nation’s secretary of Security and Citizen Protection posted a Twitter poll on legalizing marijuana that showed more than 80 percent of respondents in favor."

Read more: https://gdspoliticalanimal.blogspot.com/2019/04/mexican-govt-to-legalize-adult-use.html
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Mexican towns secede to evade drug war

Losing Faith in the State, Some Mexican Towns Quietly Break Away - The New York Times - Max Fisher, Amanda Taub, Dalia Martinez, 'The Interpreter':

January 7, 2018 - "TANCÍTARO, Mexico — The road to this agricultural town winds through the slums and cartel-controlled territory of Michoacán, ground zero for Mexico’s drug war, before arriving at a sight so strange it can seem like a mirage.

"Fifteen-foot stone turrets are staffed by men whose green uniforms belong to no official force. Beyond them, a statue of an avocado bears the inscription “avocado capital of the world.” And beyond the statue is Tancítaro, an island of safety and stability amid the most violent period in Mexico’s history.

"Local orchard owners, who export over $1 million in avocados per day, mostly to the United States, underwrite what has effectively become an independent city-state. Self-policing and self-governing, it is a sanctuary from drug cartels as well as from the Mexican state....

"Tancítaro represents a quiet but telling trend in Mexico, where a handful of towns and cities are effectively seceding, partly or in whole. These are acts of desperation, revealing the degree to which Mexico’s police and politicians are seen as part of the threat....

"It began with an uprising. Townspeople formed militias to eject both the cartel, which effectively controlled much of Michoacán, and the local police, who were seen as complicit. Orchard owners, whose families and businesses faced growing extortion threats, bankrolled the revolt.

"This left Tancítaro without police or a government, whose officials had fled. Power accumulated to the militias that controlled the streets and to their backers, an organization of wealthy avocado growers known as the Junta de Sanidad Vegetal, or Plant Health Council. Citizens sometimes call it the Junta.

"Nearly four years in, long after other militia-run towns in Michoacán collapsed into violence, the streets remain safe and tidy. But in sweeping away the institutions that enabled crime to flourish, Tancítaro created a system that in many ways resembles cartel control.

"Though violence eventually cooled, the wartime power structure has remained. The militias now act as the police, as well as guards for the town perimeter and the avocado orchards."

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/07/world/americas/mexico-state-corruption.html
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Trump's war on NAFTA threatens 3 economies

Imitating Obama? | Liberty Unbound - Gary Jason:

October 23, 2017 - "I confess that I am no fan of Trump. Actually, that dramatically understates it. I regard him as a dangerous populist ignoramus whose crudity of character makes him unfit for office.... My only hope was that Trump, once in office, would at least pretend to be presidential....

"But unfortunately he has pursued his nativist and protectionist agendas. On the nativist agenda, he killed DACA — setting up the deportation of upwards of a million young people brought here involuntarily, and raised with scant knowledge of the countries of their births. Not only did he refuse to increase the H-1B visa and other programs that legally allow in college-trained STEM and medical professionals, but he has actually proposed cutting all legal immigration by half....

"On Trump’s protectionist agenda, after killing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, Trump has set his sights on killing NAFTA.... Obama — Trump’s match in protectionism — started trade wars with both Mexico and Canada shortly after assuming office [but] slowly but surely came to understand why more than 90% of economists favor free trade. Obama eventually approved of the three free-trade agreements left to him by George Bush, and late in his second term negotiated the TPP.... But Trump is even more of a populist fool....

"The Wall Street Journal reports just how close to a collapse of the NAFTA talks we are.... [S]hould the talks collapse ... Colorado-based ImpactECON, has put the net job losses at 125,000 for Canada, 256,000 for the US, and a whopping 961,000 for Mexico over the next three to five years.

"If NAFTA does get repealed, tariffs would undoubtedly result.... Both Canada and Mexico will be furious at seeing the US dump the deal and will likely raise tariffs enormously.... The American Automobile Policy Council estimates that the rise of the price of domestic auto parts from the tariffs will cost 50,000 US jobs....

"The ImpactECON study says the small gains in US employment in production of machinery and chemical industries will be swamped by losses in the agricultural, auto, and apparel industries.... Under NAFTA, our agricultural exports to Mexico and Canada have risen fourfold, hitting $38 billion last year. If NAFTA is junked, the Mexicans could revert to their pre-NAFTA tariff levels of 75% on US chicken and corn syrup, 45% on turkey, potatoes, and dairy products, and 15% on wheat....

"Of course, the joke in all this is that the US was losing manufacturing jobs long before NAFTA.... The real 'culprit' is not international trade; it is automation and creative destruction.... The failure of many American workers to adjust to the shift from low-knowledge to high-tech factories results primarily from the pathetically poor average education they receive.... All of this could be cured if we did what supposedly socialist Sweden did over a quarter century ago: immediately adopt a universal voucher program — that is, require all public schools in America to adopt perfectly pro-rata voucher systems within one year....

"Rising protectionism and fear of trade don’t just run the risk of depression and trade wars — which in turn run the risk of military war. They also distract us from the real cause of long-term blue-collar unemployment: a horribly broken educational system."

Read more: http://www.libertyunbound.com/node/1771
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Vicente Fox campaigns for legal cannabis

At Phoenix cannabis expo, Vicente Fox talks marijuana, trade, Trump - Jason Pohl, Arizona Republic:

October 14, 2017 - "Former Mexican President Vicente Fox on Saturday made the case for broad-scale marijuana legalization in Arizona, telling a Phoenix crowd the days of failed drug policies were fading, despite rhetoric from President Donald Trump's White House.

"Speaking to hundreds of entrepreneurs, industry leders and curious residents at the Southwest Cannabis Conference and Expo at the Phoenix Convention Center, Fox reiterated his disdain for drug wars.... Fox said it was only a matter of time before all-out legalization was reality across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

"'I’m here to share with this community a future that we have ahead, a future of an economic sector that is good for people, good for health, good for the economy,' Fox told reporters before his keynote speech. 'But more so is good because it gives us the freedom to make our own decisions."

"Fox was Mexico's president from 2000 [to] 2006. Since leaving office, he has made far-reaching cannabis legalization a priority....

"He spoke in June at a similar convention in Oakland, saying Mexico and Canada had every intention of taking the lead on medical and recreational marijuana exports. The goal, he said, was to have Mexico produce 60 percent of the legal marijuana used by Americans, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

"Fox renewed those comments Saturday. He said the ongoing discussions about renegotiating the NAFTA ... needed to address the role of the cross-border marijuana trade. Tearing up the expansive policy framework would be detrimental to all industry and shove the United States and Mexico back in time, Fox said....

"Mexico has been incrementally legalizing various uses of marijuana and its derivatives for several years. In June, current Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed a decree legalizing medical marijuana, classifying the substance's psychoactive ingredient as 'therapeutic.' Medical marijuana use in Canada has long been accepted, and recreational use is widely expected to be legalized next year."

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2017/10/14/phoenix-southwest-cannabis-conference-expo-vicente-fox-legalization-donald-trump/764579001/
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Medical cannabis legalized in Mexico

Mexico Legalizes Medical Marijuana | Leafly - Lisa Rough:

June 19, 2017 -  "A decree issued by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto today confirmed that Mexico has legalized cannabis for medicinal use after overwhelming support from Mexico’s Lower House of Congress.

"Peña Nieto was once a vehement opponent of cannabis legalization, but has since called for a re-examination of global drug policy after a nationwide public debate on legalization in early 2016. 'So far, the solutions [to control drugs and crime] implemented by the international community have been frankly insufficient,' Peña Nieto told the 2016 United Nations General Assembly Special Sessions in April 2016. 'We must move beyond prohibition to effective prevention.'

"Last year, Peña Nieto even went so far as to introduce a measure that would allow Mexican citizens to possess up to an ounce of cannabis without repercussions, but the bill stalled in Congress"

Read more: https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/mexico-legalizes-medical-marijuana
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Mexican Senate votes for legal medical cannabis

Mexico senate votes to legalize medicinal cannabis | News | DW.COM | 14.12.2016 - Deutsche Welle:

December 14, 2016 - "Following a national debate on narcotics policy, the Mexican senate passed a bill on Tuesday approving the use of marijuana for medical purposes.... Senators voted 98-7 for the legislation....

"In a major policy shift, President Enrique Pena Nieto proposed legalizing medical marijuana in April after his government organized forums to discuss changes to the laws.

"The bill fails to meet demands from lawmakers and civil groups, however, who argue that wider legalization can help the country which is mired in brutal drug violence. Nieto opposes a broader legalization of marijuana but has previously proposed increasing the amount of the drug that can legally be possessed for personal consumption [to] 28 grams (one ounce) from five grams....

"In the decade since then-President Felipe Calderon launched a militarized offensive against Mexico's drug cartels, more than 100,000 people have been killed and some 30,000 more are missing....

"Senator Angelica de la Pena Gomez, of the PRD, said there was consensus to 'do something different in drug policy' because prohibition 'has generated high levels of violence, more than 100,000 deaths and the systematic violation of human rights.'

"In a statement summarizing the debate, the Senate said the measure directs the Health Department to 'design public policies to regulate the medicinal use of this plant and its derivatives' - including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant's main psychoactive ingredient.

"It also would establish that industrial products with concentrations of 1 percent THC or less would be legal to buy, sell, import and export. The cultivation of marijuana for medical and scientific purposes will not be punishable.

"The bill, passed on Tuesday, will now move to the lower Chamber of Deputies for consideration."

Read more: http://www.dw.com/en/top-stories/s-9097
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Libertarian political movement rising in Mexico

Libertarianism Is Rising in Mexico As A New Political Movement - PanAm Post - Elena Toledo (translated by Rebecca Morla):

February 3, 2016 - "Libertarian Project is an organization which works to spread the message of free enterprise and individual liberty in Mexico. Its president, Rafael Ruiz, spoke to the PanAm Post about how Mexican society has reacted to classical liberalism, and what Libertarian Project is doing....

What are the challenges for libertarianism in Mexico?
"A challenge we are facing in Mexico, as in the rest of Latin America, is that schools teach people that the state is necessary for our welfare. They also teach us to embrace patriotic values ​​that, at the end of the day, are generating a culture of dependence on the state. This is all very difficult to fight against.

"There are some initiatives aiming to change this, but we believe that these are misguided, since they offer to replace state intervention, which they deem to be simply 'wrong,' with anarchy and confrontation.... I think it is our responsibility to spread the libertarian message properly.... It is a lifestyle that seeks to magnify the qualities of of each human being in all their splendor, so that each individual can have a full, independent life, and develop personally.

Do you believe in getting involved in politics? 
"Yes, it is necessary for us as classical liberals or libertarians to engage in politics. As an organization, it is not our goal in the short or medium term, but we do believe that libertarian ideas must have an echo in politics. This is a gradual process, and we have to realize that, currently, political reality is far from what we really want. So entering politics is necessary.

"On the other hand, it is important to integrate young people from different political parties to the ideas of liberty, regardless of their ideology or even if they do not subscribe to a particular ideology. When they reach public office, they will understand the importance of economic, individual, and social freedom....

What projects does the Libertarian Project carry out in Mexico?
"In this initial stage, we are promoting clear, tolerant messages in social networks. We also have our website, www.bloglibertario.com, where we have young contributors from countries like Argentina, Spain, Venezuela and, of course, Mexico. The interesting thing is that they write about what is happening in their countries from a young and libertarian perspective, so we disseminate the ideas of liberty from an academic discussion.

"For the second phase, we plan to carry out field work in several states. We want to educate other young people about the meaning and importance of freedom. Everyone will not adopt the classical liberal or libertarian doctrine, but at least more people will have material to think about this new option in Mexican politics."

Read more: https://panampost.com/elena-toledo/2016/02/03/libertarianism-is-rising-in-mexico-as-a-new-political-movement/
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Libertarian Party forming in Mexico (interview)

Mexico's New Libertarian Party Aims to Shake Up the Political Arena - Elena Toledo, Pan-Am Post:

January 11, 2016 - "The PanAm Post recently spoke with Francisco Javier Combaluzier, spokesman for the Mexican Libertarian Party, who believes the North American country can achieve a greater level of freedom for its citizens than anyone could have previously imagined. 

Where are you in terms of legally instituting the party? 
"In Mexico, we have to depend more on the law than our own organizational capacity, because the legislation is relatively new, and it does not allow for new parties to emerge until 2020.

Nevertheless, there is a new possibility of introducing independent candidates [before the party is legally set up], and we will participate with many citizens who are joining Mexico’s libertarian movement.

What kind of positions do you expect to campaign for with these independent candidates?
"Congress, mostly. Many of Mexico’s structural problems arise from excessive legislation and disregard for the law. We not only have laws that we don’t need, but those that we do are not enforced.

"For us to have a free country, I think it’s essential that we start cutting back, and see to it that the laws we do need are obeyed. That’s why [focusing on] Congress is most important in order to ensure the rule of law.

"Nevertheless, city councils are the offices that are closest [to the people], and where good libertarian practices can be enacted.

What are the biggest challenges as libertarian politicians in Mexican society?
"There are very few of us who call ourselves [classical] liberals or libertarians, primarily because we are not taught to identify with these labels. There is little time devoted in schools to studying libertarian thinkers, philosophers, or economists.

"However, after talking to people on social media, we have realized that many agree with our views, despite not being able to identify them as libertarian. In that sense, one of our most important goals is to make people aware that their intuition of how things should be is actually rooted in libertarian principles. That way, they will understand why they shouldn’t be voting for collectivist candidates....

What is the shape of the broader libertarian movement in Mexico?
"There is the Mexican Libertarian Movement, which is very active on social media; they focus on documentation and outreach. However, they don’t believe in elections, and most of them seek to spontaneously bring about anarchism. They believe that small government is a utopian ideal, because the state has a natural tendency to grow.

"Some outlets spread libertarian ideas when possible, such as TV Azteca, where analysts Roberto Salinas León and Sergio Sarmiento work. These kinds of projects are very positive for the growth of libertarianism in Mexico.

"And then we have libertarians like myself who believe we need to get in elections to achieve a peaceful change. We can’t wait for it to happen spontaneously, or by giving lectures that people may or may not attend. We think that in the next five years we can organize a critical mass of young people who are savvy social-media users, and create a movement that can draw considerable support."

Read more: https://panampost.com/elena-toledo/2016/01/11/mexicos-new-libertarian-party-aims-to-shake-up-the-political-arena/
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Marijuana use a human right, Mexican Supreme Court rules

Pot gets green light from Mexico's Supreme Court - Mexico Daily News:

November 5, 2015 - "By four votes to one, the court’s first chamber approved the cultivation, processing and possession of cannabis for personal use. However, the ruling will only apply to four activists – Josefina Ricaño Vàndala, Armando Santacruz González, José Pablo Girault and Juan Francisco Torres Landa Ruffo – who challenged the law by applying to set up a marijuana club in 2013 for recreational, non-commercial use....

"'The ruling will only apply to the persons it protects – the resolution of the first chamber does not legalize the supply or sale [of cannabis],' said Humberto Castellejos, legal counsel in the office of the president. 'Growing it with any other objective, even for recreation, is a crime according to the law.'

"Nevertheless, campaigners for legalization including the four activists who challenged the law, are optimistic that the ruling will pave the way for an eventual dismantling of Mexico’s strict marijuana laws....

"The ruling is the first of its kind and establishes a precedent for similar cases in future. Four more like it would establish jurisprudence and require the federal government to change Mexico’s cannabis laws.

"Another legalization campaigner, Hector Aguilar Camín, also welcomed the ruling. 'This is a watershed decision; we have to start separating the substance from the hell produced by its persecution,' he said in reference to Mexico’s drug wars, which have killed thousands of people.

"'Our objective was always to change drug policy in this country, which is one of the main motors for the violence, corruption and the violation of human rights in Mexico,' said Santacruz Gonzàlez.

"Mexican law permits possession of up to five grams of cannabis, but activists say this is a halfway measure as few users buy such small amounts....

Supreme Court Judge Arturo Zaldivar, who proposed the ruling, based his argument on the human right to 'personal development' and recreation that did not harm others."

Read more: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/pot-gets-green-light-from-supreme-court/
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