A Transnational Analysis of Narco-Trafficking in (Mexico?)

Por: Gil Strizich

Relaciones Internacionales - UDLAP

If we compare each feature found within the definition of transnationalism to the narco-trafficking situation, it is clear that that the narco-trafficking situation can appropriately be considered a transnational issue.

It can be analyzed through many different social sciences, with economics and history being the most pertinent. History provides the analytical framework for the study of transnationalism, while both micro and macroeconomics provide another important outlook for analysis. The narco-trafficking situation can be interpreted using the transnational units of analysis, with special attention given to ‘Macro’ and ‘Meso’ units. As with many examples of transnationalism, the concept of the ‘Meso’, or “group”, unit of analysis tends to be the most significant because it touches on the both the ‘Micro’ and ‘Macro’ units of analysis. Within the narco example, it can be suggested that the cartels on the Mexican side of the border and groups of drug users on the American side of the border, would fall under the ‘Meso’ unit of analysis, and are perhaps the most fundamental and critical aspects of the narco-trafficking in Mexico and the U.S. The macro unit of analysis is also important because it incorporates the government and economy as a whole, which are critical aspects if one wishes to understand or attempts to address the narco-trafficking situation.           

Narco-trafficking is undoubtedly a ‘process’, as it clearly involves actors, actions, and agendas. The most influential actors are the police, narco-traffickers, and drug users, as they are most directly involved with the narco-trafficking situation. Perhaps the most important action is attempt to smuggle and distribute the drugs across the border, because it is the essence of the narco-trafficking problem and involves multiple actors of both sides of the border. However, other important actions include the attempt to find justice for these criminals and the heavy violence caused by narco-trafficking on both sides of the border. Although there are also many agendas, which would also suggest that narco-trafficking as a whole is comprised of many ‘processes”, the most important is simply the desire for narcos in Mexico to sell their product in the lucrative markets of the U.S. and Europe. 

The dimensions of transnationalism are easily described in narco-trafficking. Time is important because it distinguishes between and action and process, but it is especially vital in the narco-trafficking problem, because some consider the “narco issue” to now be a full-blown war between Narcos and the Mexican government. Therefore, it includes many traits found in any contemporary war, like the importance of public opinion, which in many ways directly correlates with ‘time’.

Through this analysis we find that the narco-trafficking situation fulfills the transnational notion of something being “here and there at the same time”. In order to accurately address the narco-trafficking problem we must consider the narco-trafficking problem in its broadest form, which includes all actors, agendas, and actions. If we consider the narco-trafficking situation from this viewpoint, rather than the physical act of transporting illicit drugs, it then becomes a transnational issue. An action taken by the United States government will reverberate on the other side of the border, and vice versa. Infact, what is so fascinating about the narco-trafficking problem is that it would not exist if it were not a transnational issue. The entire objective of narco-trafficking hinges upon the idea of destroying the idea of a sovereign state and controlled border, and differs from many other examples of transnationalism in that sense. Whereas Christianity also contains members in multiple parts of the world, it still contains an epicenter.