Drug War in Mexico Cannot be Allowed to Falter

Some U.S. media analysts framed Mexico's mid-term elections Sunday as a test of support for President Felipe Calderon's drug war.

It is more complicated than that. The global recession and its effect on Mexico's economy probably helped erode support for Calderon's National Action Party, or PAN, as voters decided the fate of 500 congressional seats, 565 mayoral races and six governorships.

According to public opinion polls, many people in Mexico — while supportive of the drug war — are tired of the violence. More than 10,000 Mexicans have died since Calderon launched his crackdown three years ago.

No doubt, this frustration helped lay the groundwork for what turned out to be a stunning comeback for the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. With 98 percent of the ballots counted Monday, the PRI had won 37 percent of the vote to 28 percent for the PAN. Calderon conceded the election results and promised to work with lawmakers.

These events are hugely significant. At the very least, the election results represent a giant step backward for our neighbor. It was less than a decade ago that the PRI, which had been brazenly ruthless and corrupt during its 71-year reign, seemed destined for the political scrap heap after losing the presidency to the PAN in 2000.

Now the PRI has retaken the majority in the Mexican Congress. That is a remarkable turnabout.

Also, the results of the mid-term elections set the stage for something that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago — that the PRI could retake the presidency in 2012. What would it mean for Mexico's fragile democracy for voters to foolishly return to power a party widely thought to be responsible for rigging elections not all that long ago?

Lastly, the big question is what the election results mean for the drug war and the resolve of the Mexican people to see it through. There are those who say that this defeat for the PAN is a defeat for Calderon's anti-drug offensive.

We hope that isn't so. We hope that voters are prepared to hold the PRI accountable, not just Calderon. After all, saving Mexico from the clutches of drug syndicates is a bipartisan issue. The candidates who won their elections Sunday did so without openly proclaiming opposition to the drug war or support for the drug lords. And thus they shouldn't confuse their victories with a broad renunciation of Calderon's efforts to defeat the cartels.

The PRI may think this is all about taking power. But with Mexico in crisis on multiple fronts, it's about more than that. It's really about taking responsibility. Leadership demands that sort of thing. And now the Mexican people should demand it of a party that has risen from the ashes.

REPRINTED FROM THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE.

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