On the hugely popular Facebook site is an application entitled “Que narco eres?” or “Which narco are you?” It has 73,000 monthly users.
After filling out an application asking questions about myself, I am apparently most akin to the infamous Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, brutal head of the Sinaloa cartel and seemingly impossible to arrest. This was based on my preferred narco-corridos (I hadn’t really heard of any of them), alcoholic beverage (Jack Daniels wasn’t on the list) and method of assassinating enemies.
Obviously, I don’t feel much affinity with my “amigo” El Chapo, have never knowingly killed anyone with an AK 47, drunk Remy Martin XO Special or been on the run from the law, but there is a more serious underlying issue at play.
Back in the 90s, the Colombian city of Medellin was plagued by drug violence, with 6,500 murders out of a population of 2 million in 1991 alone, the equivalent of 380 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. That’s over half the drug cartel related deaths in Mexico since President Calderon took office in 2006. These days Medellin is a much-improved place, recording 37 killings for every 100,000 inhabitants in 2005 – less than Washington, Detroit or Baltimore.
In an interview with the Milenio magazine published last month, current Medellin mayor Alfonso Salazar offered a piece of advise to Mexico: “You beat narcos with culture … not just with the repressive force of the state.”
With that in mind, “Que narco eres?” “Narco gifts,” and the exaltation of narco-corridos by users of You Tube only help to glorify a crippling problem for Mexican society, even if it may produce a temporary gratifying smirk.
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