Professor Emeritus George Grayson Publishes New Book, "The Cartels"
George W. Grayson, Professor Emeritus, at the College of William & Mary, has just written The Cartels: The Story of Mexico’s Most Dangerous Criminal Organizations and Their Impact on U.S. Security. This book, the third Grayson has written on Mexico’s criminal organization, was published on Nov. 30, 2013. Congratulations, George!
Among the issues that the study addresses are:
- How successful was former President Felipe Calderón (2006-2012) in pursuing the “Kingpin Strategy” that emphasized the arrest and/or killing of drug capos?
- Is there really a “New” Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) as Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto proclaims?
- Has Peña Nieto succeeded in changing the national dialogue to away from narco-violence?
- Has the PRI government devised a new strategy for combating organized crime?
- What is the status of the vaunted Gendarmería Nacional—based on the French model?
- Did violence decrease during his first year in office, as Mexico’s chief executive asserts?
- Is Michoacán a “failed state” within the nation?
- How have Mexico’s governors impeded their country’s move for democracy?
- Will a pending “judicial reform”—moving to U.S.-style adversary proceedings—be implemented?
- How have members of the business community and some Roman Catholic leaders aided and abetted Mexico’s narco-syndicates?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the country’s major cartels?
- If a miracle occurred and narco-trafficking ceased, would Mexicans find themselves more secure?
- Are touted social programs such as the “Crusade against Hunger” designed to uplift Mexico’s “have nots” or artifices to increase the number of PRI members of Congress in 2015—as a move toward retaining the governing party’s control of the presidency in 2018?
- Can the left block the pending reform of the oil sector?
- How much can the United States influence Mexico’s security policy?
