Mexico is Unravelling

Mexico erupts in protest. Gen Z is rising up against Mexican cartels and President Claudia Shinebomb. Why is this happening and why now? Welcome to America Uncovered. I'm Chris Chapel. Before I begin, be sure to leave a comment below with the American flag emoji to show YouTube's algorithm that we've got engagement. And while you're down there, make sure you're still subscribed. And today, I'll be talking about, how do I say this without setting off YouTube's content bots? Uh, Drogas Evolencia. That didn't get us demonetized already. I'm sure the rest of this episode will, but thankfully, we've got a sponsor. We all know that AI is reshaping the job market really fast. Nearly half of workers worldwide are afraid of losing their jobs to AI and technology. Customer service, marketing, finance, even online influencers. No industry is untouched. But the real issue is that some people think their job won't get affected by AI until suddenly it hits them like a ton of bricks. 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Save your free spot now using the link in the description and take this opportunity now before it disappears. And now, back to the episode. On Saturday, thousands gathered outside the National Palace in Mexico City. Protesters climbed over walls set up outside the palace, hurled rocks at police, kicked them, beat them with metal pipes and tools, and used barricades as impromptu battering rams in an attempt to get through the armored police line. And everywhere you look, you saw this flag. That's right, the flag of the Straw Hat pirates from the anime series One Piece. It's finally happening, folks. The weeaboos are revoling. We warned them about trying to make Yamato transgender, but they didn't listen. But seriously, what's up with the flag? Well, it first caught on in Indonesia, where Gen Z activists used it in protests against a government which they've come to see as increasingly corrupt and authoritarian. A month later, the flag showed up again in Nepal, where students successfully forced the prime minister and other officials to resign after the government tried to block social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and X. Since then, it's become a catchall symbol for Zoomer rebellion, whether it's in the Philippines, France, Italy, Peru, and over this past weekend, Mexico. So, what sparked these protests in particular? Well, they sprang up not long after the assassination of an outspoken anti-cartel mayor, Carlos Manzo. And just how outspoken was he? Well, he took what many called a fullfrontal approach to crime. This included a shoot first, ask questions later strategy where he would hop onto helicopters and order his police to shoot suspected narot traffickers. Damn, what was this guy doing in Mexico? He should have gone to work for the Trump administration. Now, you could argue that his methods were extreme, but he was popular and you can understand why the public would go for this death wish sort of approach. According to the nonprofit Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, cartel violence has turned Mexico into one of the most politically violent nations on Earth, placing it alongside actual war zones like Syria and Ukraine. It's especially dangerous for public officials who try to speak out. The cartel's influence over Mexico's police, military, and government runs deep, and it's only gotten worse under Mexican President Claudia Shinbomb and her predecessor, Andreas Manuel Lopez Orador, otherwise known as Amllo. In 2018, he introduced a policy of Brazos Nobel, hugs, not bullets. What this meant was that Mexico's government would stop focusing on trying to fight the cartels. That meant far fewer shootouts, raids, and arrests of high-ranking figures. Instead, the government would focus on alleviating what they saw as the root cause of crime, namely poverty. This included job programs, expanding the education system, and direct cash transfers. And how' this policy work out? Not great. Analysts say organized crime groups expanded and deepened their influence during Amllo's term. In those six years, more than 185,000 people were murdered, more than any other administration. And during the country's last election, which saw Claudia Shine come to power, 38 candidates were assassinated, making it the deadliest election in Mexico's modern history. Now, I'm not saying Shine Bomb herself is working with the cartels, but she's not going to get in their way either. So you can understand why protesters have labeled the regime a narcoestado or narco state. They're fed up with what they see as a pact between the government and the cartels. So how has Shine Bomb responded? By using some of the oldest plays in the book, blaming the protests on her opposition as well as foreign actors and bots. Shine Bomb supporters, meanwhile, say she's extremely popular, so surely these protests have to be fake, right? Now, it's usually a good idea to take polls with a grain of salt. To quote the great Thomas Soul, >> "Like most people, I have never seen a pollster." >> But cooked books aside, there's also a certain level of risk to answering these polls. If a stranger comes to your house asking, "Hey, are you cool with what the cartels of the government are doing?" You're going to be very careful in how you answer that question. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, most Mexicans feel unsafe. And really, there's nobody they can turn to. People have stopped reporting crimes like extortion since they believe the police themselves are colluding with criminals. And if you do lodge a complaint, well, that's a good way to get your business burned down. So, you have to forgive me if I don't really buy into the popularity of Shine Bomb and Hugs Not Guns. The whole paying people to not join cartels didn't really work in the first place. But now with Trump back in office, Shine Bomb has even less money to work with. Border crossings have dropped to their lowest level since 1970. This has cut deep into Mexico's remittance economy. That is Mexicans in the US sending money back home. And this has contributed to Mexico's GDP growth slowing to a crawl of just 1%. For decades, the US has acted as a pressure release valve for Mexico. Whenever problems were boiling over in Mexico, the government could just send its people across the border and forget about them. Even better, those people would send back money that the government could try to use to paper over those problems. But now that the border is effectively closed, these sorts of protests are going to become a lot more common. What do you think? Leave your comments below. And don't get left behind when everyone else is learning how to use AI. Be one of the first 1,000 people to click below and book your slot for Outsklls AI training this weekend. I'm Chris Chapel. Thanks for watching America Uncovered.