“The search for momentary pleasures ends in unhappiness”: AMLO's message to young people and drug traffickers

In an emotional way and with an encouraging speech, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) gave a message to the young people of Mexico, this by virtue of their failure to accept the perpetual invitation of organized crime to join their “reserve army”.

This Tuesday, April 12, president organized the Message ceremony 100 days after his fourth year of government. So, at about 5:00 p.m. (central Mexico time) AMLO summoned his cabinet and prominent members of the 4T to Palacio Nacional to give his report.

The main points he addressed were the reactivation of social activities after COVID-19, insecurity and energy self-sufficiency in Mexico; however, broadly, he devoted a message to national youth, highlighting the importance of the State creating better living conditions for this group of the population.

When he touched on the issue of security in Mexico, López Obrador spoke of the so-called “falconcitos”, who are part of the lowest structure of drug trafficking and are dedicated to warning hit men about the presence of security elements in some demarcation.

Given this phenomenon, AMLO pointed out that the pacification process will be long, but that the methodology of generating better conditions for this demographic is the best strategy to pacify Mexico. He therefore committed himself to guaranteeing study and work spaces for this sector of the population.

He also condemned the glamourization of violence. “As is known, the search for these momentary or fleeting pleasures almost always ends in greater sadness and unhappiness,” so he said that the heart of the struggle lies in preventing young people from joining the drug trade.

As a result, he noted that his administration is serving young people with the Youth Building the Future program, which contributes to job creation, education promotion and the fight against poverty. In addition to this, the government of Q4 promotes the strengthening of cultural, moral and spiritual values.

So he set out to number the crimes that were lowered so far in his government: fuel theft fell by 95%, homicides fell 3.5%, vehicle theft fell 40%, kidnapping 41%, house theft by 29%, business robbery 23%, robbery from passerby 22%, theft from carriers 31% and public transport theft was reduced by 33 per cent.

However, he acknowledged that femicide, extortion and robbery by individual public transport rose by 15, 40 and 22 per cent, respectively. So, with this balance, AMLO congratulated the security cabinet: José Rafael Ojeda Durán, head of the Mexican Navy Secretariat (Semar); Luis Cresencio Sandoval González, head of the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena); and Rosa Icela Rodríguez, head of the Secretariat of Citizen Security and Protection (SSPC).

The reality in Mexico underpins the fact that young people are particularly exposed to violence, since the normalization and glamourization of criminal acts, as well as the precariousness of living conditions, predispose thousands of boys to join the ranks of the underworld, which is why the AMLO government maintains its position in helping them in their vulnerability and thus, avoid their incorporation into the operational forces of the arc.

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