Ciudad Juárez: The Militarization of Mexico's Black Spot

Abstract: Since 2006, President Calderón has used the army to combat organized crime. The object of this study is to investigate the effects of militarization, as a strategy to contain the war on drugs, on Ciudad Juárez. The paper will focus on violence, corruption, public denounce, economy, policy making and international cooperation as indicators to help evaluating the strategy chosen by the Mexican Government. This study can help to answer the question on how to proceed in other Mexican cities with similar problems. Using the case study method with the help of electronic media, this research aims to analyze how the combat against organized crime through militarization has affected Ciudad Juárez. Theories of the challenges that organized crime poses to the state, the monopoly of violence and the militarization of black spots were used in order to conduct the study. The most visible outcome of militarization is a city that suffers from violence and insecure climate for doing business. A natural effect is that migration in order to find better opportunities in other parts of Mexico or in the United States has increased. This negative trend has led to international agreements and national strategies aiming to promote social development as a counter strategy. However those agreements have still a security focus and on the ground no such counter strategies are visible.