CALDERON UNVEILS A NEW CRIME-FIGHTING STRATEGY

MEXICO CITY -- President Felipe Calderon, his country tormented by
drug-gang violence, unveiled a comprehensive anti-crime strategy
Wednesday that calls for merging Mexico's four federal police forces
and for enlisting citizen groups in the battle against corrupt cops.

The program also includes the creation of the country's first
national criminal database, the professionalization of federal police
and prison officers, and the expansion of efforts to fight soaring
domestic drug addiction.

Calderon, who took office in December, asked Congress to "approve
ever-increasing resources to give our police the latest in technology."

"What's at stake is nothing less than the present and future of
Mexico," said Calderon, who was joined by his security cabinet and
civic watchdog groups. "The challenge is clear and unavoidable. We
cannot afford to waste time or effort."

That includes confronting the warring drug gangs, whose increasingly
ruthless tactics left more than 2,000 people dead last year across Mexico.

A need for unity The violence has continued. On Tuesday, the federal
police chief of Tabasco state, Francisco Fernandez, narrowly escaped
assassination after suspected drug cartel hit men sprayed his car
with more than 50 bullets, killing his driver. The southern
oil-producing state is one of several recently sucked into the drug
war because traffickers, fleeing military pursuit, have expanded into
new territories.

"It's a battle in which we must all unite, leaving behind political,
social and regional differences," Calderon said.

Such grandiose presidential programs are a staple of Mexico's
populist-style democracy and often fail to reach their goals. But
analysts said Calderon's approach went further than that of previous
governments in involving broad sectors of society in the war against
crime and just might prove successful.

"Fighting crime isn't just a matter of police," said Jorge Chabat, a
security expert and commentator in Mexico City. "It's about police,
judges, prisons and citizen groups that monitor the government."

Since taking office Dec. 1, Calderon has thrown himself into the war
on crime, deploying federal troops that he says number 20,000 to
battle the drug gangs in eight states, including two bordering Texas.
He has also authorized extraditions to the United States of suspected
narcotics kingpins and is reportedly planning to send another 30 or
40 drug suspects to America.

His government is also in the midst of merging the four federal
police forces, although congressional approval is needed to finalize
the process. They include: the Federal Preventive Police, the Federal
Investigative Agency, the Immigration Police and the Customs Police.

Those are the flashiest pieces of his anti-crime drive. But there are
also subtler measures currently making their way through Congress,
which experts say could prove more effective over the long term. One
would implement U.S.-style oral trials nationwide in a bid to make
the judicial process fairer and more efficient.

Former President Vicente Fox proposed similar measures, including the
criminal database. But he failed to secure support from Congress and
state governments, who must order their police to share information
with the federal authorities.

Negotiating for allies By contrast, Calderon, has already shown
himself to be a shrewd negotiator. In January, all 31 state governors
pledged their support for the crime database and promised to push
through police reforms at the state and municipal levels.

That accord is a good start, but could backfire unless it is
accompanied by effective anti-corruption measures, Chabat said.

Calderon appears aware of the problem. He has asked citizens' groups,
including business associations and churches, to serve as watchdogs,
reporting abuses by the police and corrupt officers.

[sidebar]

CASH BOOST

To counter drug gang violence and other crime, Mexico -- with a
federal budget of $205 billion -- is spending an additional:

$1.2 billion: For public security, a 51 percent increase.

$2.9 billion: For the military, a 23 percent increase.