3P in Mexico: Shaping a Regional Lens to Address Cross-Border Violence

In November 3P Program Manager John Filson took part in a national conference in Chiapas, Mexico organized by the Mexican network of GPPAC (Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict), made of local NGOs working in violence prevention and human rights at the community level throughout Mexico. Participants were peacebuilding practitioners from every region, working in the thick of violence and personal threats in Mexico’s general state of insecurity and impunity related to the Drug War, poor governance systems, and chronic poverty and inequality.

 

Mexican community leaders meet to share stories of violence and peacebuilding efforts throughout Mexico.



The conference was an opportunity for Mexican peacebuilders, activists, and human rights defenders to step back from the heat and pressure of their daily work to share stories of struggles and successes with counterparts from other parts of the country. It helped further strengthen relationships and collaborations among Mexican civil society organizations as part of an on-going robust citizen movement in Mexico that has stood up to demand an end to the violence, impunity, and abuses that have increased drastically in recent years, not only by organized criminal networks but also by government and paramilitary security forces.

 

Regional representatives discuss potential strategies for addressing systemic violence, corruption, and impunity in Mexico.

John also met with Mexican counterparts to discuss strategies for regional collaboration in response to these complex problems. What Mexico is experiencing today is often understood, especially outside of Mexico, as a power struggle between the Mexican government and the long-standing system of black markets and organized crime. But in reality, problems related to the trade in narcotics, arms and human trafficking, criminal gangs, and the culture of violence with impunity are directly and specifically linked across national borders. Guns made and sold in the U.S. supply drug cartels with the means to kill and extort. Drugs bolstering illegal markets in Mexico fuel gang violence and drug addiction in U.S. cities. Those same profits return to illicit economies in Mexico and continue the cycle. 


Members of GPPAC’s North America regional network focus on cross-border strategies to pursue change in U.S. and Mexican communities and at the policy level.

In 2013, 3P, the Alliance for Peacebuilding, and partners in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada will work to support on-going change efforts both at the community and policy levels through strategies that recognize the cross-border nature of the problems of drug consumption, arms trade, and violence that impact vulnerable communities throughout North America. Watch for a bi-national civil society delegation in Washington in Spring, 2013 to help policymakers understand the direct cross-border links and recommendations for cross-border policy solutions.