Abstract
In this ethnographic study, Ricardo Ainslie, a native of Mexico City and professor in the department of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas, Austin, draws readers into the nuances of violence in Mexico’s drug war, specifically the impact in Ciudad Juárez. With access to key players such as the mayor, journalists, human rights activists, and local residents, Ainslie illustrates the interconnectedness of the political, security, and cartel worlds. The focal point of the book is on the mayor of Juárez, José Reyes Ferriz. Through the mayor’s recollections, we learn of the challenges faced and obstacles overcome between 2007 and 2010. Making Reyes Ferriz the central character of the book allows a point of reference for the reader as the narrative moves through time.
The Fight to Save Juárez documents the everyday political, social, and security issues in a border town dealing with an impending cartel war. The detail offered shows the complexity of seemingly mundane activities such as going to the store, walking in your neighborhood, and having a party for young people. These activities, when paired with cartel and gang violence, illustrate the challenges that residents of Juárez must contend with on a daily basis.
Juárez residents saw the Juárez cartel hold its ground against the encroaching Sinaloa cartel. The number of deaths skyrocketed. In 2007, there were a total of 301 assassinations recorded for the entire year. In February of 2009 alone, 230 executions were recorded (p. 127). The total number of deaths in 2009 in Juárez was 2,607 (p. 239). This dramatic increase in executions created an atmosphere of fear and corruption. The executions employed guns largely imported from the United States. Although Ainslie notes the statistics on the origin of guns used in Mexico may be suspect, approximately 70 percent of guns used in violent altercations have American origins (p. 140).
The task of local police was to curb the violence while under threats of execution for going against the cartel and local gangs. If police officers did not toe the line, they faced execution. “There were only fifteen hundred municipal police officers on the force, which, for a city of 1.3 million inhabitants, was paltry. Chicago, as a point of comparison, was almost twice the size of Juárez (2.8 million inhabitants), but had a police force that was more than ten times the size (approximately sixteen thousand officers)” (p. 83). One major obstacle the mayor faced was trying to keep a police chief when his officers and top leadership were being targeted. These complications help one to understand and draw conclusions about the likelihood of creating a force that is free of corruption and able to protect citizens. With influence bought from the cartel, both cartel and police were able “to occupy more equitable positions, with ex-police forming part of the cartel leadership, while the cartel continued to have outright control over pushers and distribution” (p. 83) while the police looked on.
The access Ainslie had to Mayor Reyes Ferriz for the duration of his term allows the reader to understand the political processes needed and the levels of bureaucracy he had to maneuver to help fight the cartels and violence in Juárez. The mayor’s perspective on the police and issues surrounding police corruption and police executions allows the reader to understand the enormous pressures placed on the office of mayor in preventing violence and keeping the residents of Juárez safe. In addition to the mayor’s commentary we learn about the tumultuous relationship with the governor of Chihuahua and his unwillingness to aid Reyes Ferriz. Understanding the politics of Mexico further reveals the levels of infiltration of the cartels and the willingness of politicians to step forward with plausible solutions.
Countering the mayor’s outlook, Ainslie provides access to Juárez journalists through Raymundo Ruiz, a photographer for El Norte. Ruiz’s details further clarify the picture of violence the mayor and others may not articulate. Ruiz discusses the added threat to the life of a journalist when the sicarios, the executioners, circle back to make sure their target is dead. They may open fire and if you are close, you too may be a victim. Journalists had to be careful reporting only some facts to avoid becoming a target of the cartels. Journalists “suffered the typical professional rivalries and jealousies, but conflicting pressures also tore at them. On the one hand they had their journalistic ideals and commitments, on the other the brutal reality of intimidation and possible assassination” (p. 114). The journalists and those in public office had varying relationships, with journalists trying to hold politicians accountable for their actions while commenting on the violence in Juárez. Overstepping the line can result in the death of a journalist: thirty in the past three years have been killed because they did not toe the line or they were unsure of where the line was. The journalists lived in ever-present danger in reporting violence in Juárez.
Ainslie presents an entire generation called Los NiNi, which means “Ni estudian ni trabajan (they neither study nor work)” (p. 167), who have few choices and turn to gangs and cartels to make money. The lure of fast money with no education leads many of these young people into a life of crime. According to Laurencio Barraza, a local activist, “there’s been a systematic policy of exclusion for this population; they push them toward the maquiladoras, at $70 pesos a day. They leave elementary school when they’re twelve or thirteen but by law they’re not permitted to work until they are fifteen. What do they do” (p. 157)? The answer is, they turn to the street and its criminal activities. Changing the opportunities available for this generation is the key to changing the future of Juárez.
The structure of the book allows for others to discuss or produce further research on the impact the drug war has on border towns generally and on Juárez specifically. Beginning in 2007 and ending with the turnover of Juárez to a new mayor, this three-year journey provides a look into the life of a Juárez resident. The book examines Mexican culture and society, humanizing the faces involved and allowing the reader to take a safe journey through the dangerous world of drugs and violence. Ainslie describes in great detail the events and politics needed to understand the complexity of violence in Juárez. Overall, the book appeals to a general audience, from undergraduates to policymakers, discussing the connection to drugs and violence and what can be done to preserve human life. It is well researched and presented in an easy to read monograph that makes accessible the war on drugs and increasing violence in Juárez.