MEXICO'S WAR ON DRUGS IS A FAILURE

Editor -- President Clinton's brief rendezvous with Mexican President
Ernesto Zedillo did little to combat the institutional cancer of
narco-corruption in Mexico and even less to support human rights and
democracy. The issues are connected: Without truly democratically elected
officials and a corruption-free law enforcement establishment, drug traffic
through Mexico will continue to be a problem.

The public fiction that narcotics flow can be controlled through the
application of more of the same failed high-tech interdiction strategies
doesn't take into account the essential role of democracy and accountable
public institutions in fighting drug trafficking.

Mexican officials -- no matter how sincere -- will not be able to stem the
flow of narcotics without rebuilding the credibility and effectiveness of
police and investigative institutions. Some positive steps have been taken
in this direction, for example the integration of human rights
investigators into the command structures of the Mexico City police force.

Nationwide, however, the government's U.S.-backed approach to the ``drug
war'' has been increasingly based on military techniques and not citizen
participation.

With the critical 2000 presidential election looming in Mexico, long term
U.S. interests are best served by embracing democratic change in Mexico.
Instead of building support for a bogus ``certification'' of Mexico's
cooperation in the drug war, Clinton should be honest about the failure of
current policy.

At the very least, on his next trip to Mexico he should meet with Mexican
opposition leaders to get a different perspective of the current strategy,
and to understand how the war on drugs has failed Mexico.

TED LEWIS

Mexico Program Director Global Exchange San Francisco