American law enforcement helped arm the gangs. ibid.
In 2008 the focus shifted to another commodity: heroin produced in Mexico. ibid.
For several years they simply deposited the cash in the bank ... HSBC. ibid.
Q) Why did the Mexican throw his wife off the cliff?
A) Tequila. Joe Pasquale, cited The 100 Greatest Comedians, 2010
The history of Mexico is the history of a man seeking his parenthood, his origins. Octavia Paz, poet
Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States. Porfirio Diaz
By 1911 the States belonged to Zapata and his followers. He produced what is the only social testament of the Revolution, declaring all land to be the property of the State, and establishing maximum sizes for farms depending on the quality of land ... Almost 2,000,000 people died in the Revolution. John Pilger, The Mexicans, ITV 1980
Behind the Latin mask there is great conflict. Civility and violence, studied formality and chaos, and a patience that has endured for half a century. Land reform, the cry of the Revolution, has failed. Mexico itself chronically short of food grows cash crops almost exclusively for the dinner tables of America. In the strawberry fields children as young as six are put to work openly and illegally. Mexico City is now the world centre of extreme wealth and extreme poverty. ibid.
We are going to build a new fence. It will be more attractive and more effective without presenting a danger to anyone trying to scale it. US Attorney General
Tonight I’m in Mexico where every Spring 2,000,000 revellers flock to the resort of Cancun to party, to drink and to pull. Stacey Dooley: Crime, Carnage & Cancun, BBC 2013
The crime here is like nowhere else in the world. ibid.
Spring break is all about breaking the rules. ibid.
I’ve never seen this type of controlled, contrived partying. ibid.
Spring Breakers seem to be getting drugs from somewhere. ibid.
Around 12 tourists die every year in Cancun. ibid.
The world’s largest producer of crystal meth – Mexico ... Prices have halved. Stacey Dooley: Meth and Madness in Mexico, BBC 2015
‘I was up for thirty-two days. And I ended up in a Psych Ward for six months afterwards.’ ibid.
In Mexico less than 2% of murders resulted in convictions in 2012. ibid.
Cartels: The most ruthless people I have ever heard of. ibid.
Beneath the Yucatan region of Mexico are over 5,000 underwater caves ... The skull is so old it did not interest the police ... Around 600 skeletons have been discovered. Ancient X Files: Mayan Underworld, National Geographic 2012
Almost 80% of the bones ... belong to children aged between three and twelve. ibid.
The whole country is immersed in a fight between members of organised crime. Jose Reyes Ferriz, Mayor of Jaurez
There is no doubt that these people develop their business because of protection of authorities. Because there is a lot of money involved. Many of the Federal ... police are linked to them. Victor Clark Alfaro, Binational Centre for Human Rights director Tijuana
Images of gods from the stars symbolised by feathered serpents can be found all over planet Earth. In ancient Mexico there was a god-king known as Quetzalcoatl. The world Quatzal means bird. And coatl means serpent. He was the god from the stars. Chris Everard, Secret Space II, 2011
He’s the Robin Hood of the New World. Aristocrat by day, protector of the oppressed by night. He is the stuff of great fiction, films and TV. An adventurer with a daring alter ego. A swashbuckling lover always able to escape his enemies with skill and style, leaving nothing but his mark – a Z. But is it possible behind the mark of fiction lies a real historical figure? Mystery Files: Zorro, National Geographic 2011
Zorro was created by American writer Johnston McCulley in 1919. ibid.
The story of Zorro might not be entirely fictional. ibid.
He is not Mexican or even Spanish. He is Irish. And his real name is William Lamport [Don Guillén de Lampart y Guzmán]. ibid.
After ten years in Spain, Lamport now arrives in Mexico City. ibid.
For him Spanish rule is not the answer. ibid.
He set about to draft a proclamation of independence. ibid.
Lamport and Pinto make good their escape. Lamport uses his escape to broadcast corruption at the heart of the Inquisition. ibid.
A population of mischievous Mexican mini-mes called the Alux. These child-sized beasts have been reported for centuries. Destination Truth s3e1, Skyfy 2009
In ancient canals just south of Mexico City sits an island that is populated by thousands of reportedly possessed dolls. Destination Truth s4e3
Recently the island’s caretaker Don Julian was found dead in the same canal where the visiting girl drowned. ibid.
My sole ambition is to rid Mexico of the class that has oppressed her and give the people a chance to know what real liberty means. And if I could bring that about today by giving up my life, I would do it gladly. Pancho Villa
Mexico is a mosaic of different realities and beauties. Enrique Pena Nieto
In the Mexico we want, there is no room for corruption, for cover-ups, and least of all for impunity. Enrique Pena Nieto
Mexico needs schools, rural development, and an independent judiciary, not high-tech weaponry. Stephen Kinzer
The progressive constitution should consider individual rights, free and secular education, gender equality, a free Mexico for the separation of church and state. Ignacio Ramirez, 1857
The nation is hungry and thirsty for justice. Justo Sierra
The conquerors wanted señorar, an empire, to dominate a large group of people, to replace a culture, for many lower concepts, with a superior culture, forced, then, the slow road following the evolution indigenous ... and produced a revolution. But this Revolution came a manor, not a colony. They made way to forms of work and existence previously unknown to indigenous peoples but implanted with the power of the cross and the sword, a regime of servile exploitation all social and cultural institutions Product of this system. Justo Sierra
Mexican! I die for a just cause, the independence and freedom of Mexico. May my blood forever end the misfortunes of my new homeland. Viva Mexico! Maximilian I, moments before being shot
Excelsior reports a study by environmental groups, presented to President Salinas, claiming that 100,000 children die every year as a result of pollution in the Mexico City area, along with millions suffering pollution-induced disease, which has reduced life expectancy by an estimated ten years. Noam Chomsky, Deterring Democracy
Roosevelt was a shocking racist … With regard to the conquest of half of Mexico Roosevelt explained that it was inevitable and in the highest degree desirable. Noam Chomsky, lecture MIT December 2009, ‘History of US Rule in Latin America’
NAFTA: It’s a tremendous attack against democracy. And that’s also recognised: you read over and over again that the point of NAFTA is to lock Mexico into the current reforms as they are called, that is the policies of opening up the economy which have brought about the Mexican ‘economic miracle’ in which incidentally wages have dropped about 60% over the past decade, and the share of labour in income has dropped about 36% to 23%. Noam Chomsky, lecture Washington December 1993, ‘Clinton’s Vision’
‘But what are we going to do? We come from poverty.’ Cartel Land, opening scene, 2015
‘So they took their revenge by killing all his workers.’ ibid. grieving woman
‘Every autodefensa keeps his usual job … but they all volunteer to protect our towns.’ ibid.
‘It’s time we defend ourselves.’ ibid. autodefensa leader
‘They caught me and said, You did it; in you go.’ Presumed Guilty, Antonio, 2008
‘Policemen and other authorities in our justice system are rewarded for the number of arrests they make.’ ibid. Layda, lawyer/documentary maker
93% of defendants never see a judge. ibid.