Securitization of narcotraffic in Mexico

Abstract

The war on drugs has being a major issue for Mexico. In this thesis we follow how narcotraffic became to be an extraordinary threat for Mexico. How some of the presidential administrations have shifted the discourse on drugs in different directions, which have resulted in a variety of outcomes. Mexico first began securitizing narcotraffic as a response to foreign policy, but at the same time distributed responsibilities to drug’ consumer countries. Later on, the government of Mexico declared war against narcotraffic, which altered all the panorama of Mexico. Violence and human rights violations skyrocket in Mexico. On the other hand, the following administration is trying to desecuritize narcotraffic. Drastically removing the words war and narcotraffic from their speeches and instead try to use phrases such as Mexico in peace.