Corruption.

One of the issues that has captivated me the most in Mexico is corruption. Polices officers, security forces, government, etc. Who can Mexican's trust? Who can they call when a crime is committed?

My internship supervisor told me about a survey on corruption in different areas of Mexico. It asked residents how corrupt they thought their state was. It turns out some of the most corrupt states residents believed they were the least corrupt, because they thought the corrupt behavior was totally normal. Of course we have corrupt officials in the U.S., but in general we believe that we should be able to call on the police to help us and that there are certain things government employees should and shouldn't do.

The recent shooting in the Mexico City airport between corrupt security forces definitely brought this closer to home for me. I'm not sure how bad it is in Mexico City and I don't want to push my luck to find out, but it seems that in the northern states and areas particularly high in drug violence people don't bother calling the police if something happens. Changing how all of these organizations function on a daily basis seems insurmountable, but is essential to successful economic and social development.

I am taking a corruption course this coming fall semester and I can't wait to dig into these issues a little more!