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Mexico Says Customs Agency has Fueled Crime
 Victor Mayen - The News
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March 15, 2010
| | The report was released by a chamber commission to study, analyze, evaluate and monitor the operations of Customs, domestic airports in relation to the entry of illegal goods and the trafficking and smuggling of weapons, drugs and addictive substances. (The News) | |
Mexico City – Mexico’s Customs Agency has become a serious problem for the economy and national security amid the smuggling of illegal merchandise, arms and illegal substances, Congress says.
The Chamber of Deputies over the weekend released a report detailing that during the past 20 years, Mexico’s customs policies in general and the operation of customs in particular have failed to meet both the changing needs of the country and the trade sectors.
The report was released by a chamber commission to study, analyze, evaluate and monitor the operations of Customs, domestic airports in relation to the entry of illegal goods and the trafficking and smuggling of weapons, drugs and addictive substances.
It reported that the smuggling of arms, prohibited goods and substances has underscored the porosity and permissiveness in which Mexico’s Customs operates. The consequences include a more severe crisis, which affect the formal economy, the jobs of thousands of Mexicans and national security.
One example of this is that according to the Program for the Competitiveness in the Fibers-Textile-Clothing Chain, 58 percent of the apparel market is fueled by illegal means (the smuggling, theft and tax-evasive domestic manufacturing), while nationally-, legally-produced items account for only 20 percent of the market.
“The social state, with its norms on job protection, is suffering, and the informal sector, promoted by the smuggling of goods, is making major strides in the country. Recently, INEGI (National Institute of Statistics and Geography) acknowledged that the informal economy represents 30 percent of the country’s economic activity,” the document says.
The report also cites the National Addictions Survey, which shows that drug abuse increased by 60 percent between 2002 and 2008.
Marijuana use during the same period grew by 70 percent, and cocaine use spiked by more than than 100 percent. If it is true that the use of crack and methamphetamines are still marginal in the total consumption illegal drugs, use of these rose by 600 percent: they are fastest-growing drugs.
This was the result of the increased availability of drugs: 1 in 4 men ages 12 to 25 has had the opportunity, whether by gift or by purchase, to use drugs, and 1 in 3 between 26 and 34. Consumption among women has grown significantly, especially among those ages 12 to 25.
“The arms trade has been expressed as a partial privatization of the monopoly of state-sanctioned violence,” and criminals can obtain weapons through corruption. “In 2006 and 2007, Customs seized only 2 percent of illegal weapons entering the country,” the report says.
One gun is estimated to illegally enter Mexico each minute. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the arms trade is the second-largest national security problem. This problem fuels the violence of organized crime, which has killed more than 7,000 people since early 2008. The report concludes that the informality fed by the porosity and permissiveness of Customs produces insecurity. Responsibility, confidence and security are no longer formally guaranteed.
With the report’s release, the Commission has scheduled meetings with federal government officials, Customs, the Tax Administration Service (SAT) and the Directorate General of Customs. |
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