External influences on policy making and institutions
Can Mexican politicians afford to accept help from the U.S.?U.S. Anti-Drug Plan Would Recast Legal System in Mexico
"The Bush administration's proposed counternarcotics aid package for Mexico would set in motion a vast reengineering of the country's justice system, revamping the legal education process, creating a network of court clerks and helping to write new laws, according to two summaries obtained by The Washington Post.
"The $500 million plan would also fund anti-drug and human rights campaigns and new citizen complaint centers. It would provide money for efforts to develop 'centers of moral authority" and for media campaigns to create "a culture of lawfulness.' ...
"Nearly every sector of Mexico's federal justice system would receive a slice of the proposed aid, with millions being doled out for equipment and training for prosecutors, federal police, prison managers and customs inspectors...
"About 40 percent of the aid package would go to the Mexican military...
"The plan proposes helping to 'develop appropriate legislation,' which some analysts believe could be perceived as an attempt by the United States to dictate Mexican laws. It also calls for U.S. officials to help develop 'substantive legislation on forfeiting assets that have been used to commit crimes or which are the proceeds of crime.'...
"The documents include unusually blunt criticisms of Mexico, with one declaring that 'there is widespread popular distrust within Mexico for its law enforcement institutions.'
"In justifying $15 million for training prosecutors and developing a system of court clerks, the document states that 'the current court management system is inefficient and ripe for corruption.'
"Corruption is a theme that runs throughout the plan..."
Labels: Mexico, policy, politics
posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:02 AM
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