The War on Drugs and the Merida Initiative

Abstract

This paper aims to present the successes and failures of a supply-oriented drug policy through the case of Mexico. It examines the Merida Initiative’s goals and achievements since its adoption. Special attention is devoted to the Initiative after 2010, when the Obama Administration sought to shift the focus of the assistance towards strengthening rule of law, enhancing the capacities of democratic institutions, primarily the justice sector, and also improving the human rights status of the country. To assess the achievements and failures, David Baldwin’s (2001) guidelines are adopted: effectiveness, cost to user and target, stakes for user and target. The assessment might provide valuable insights for future policy implications. In either case (before and after the shift), however, it seems that the supply-oriented drug policy is associated with too high of a cost to be labeled as successful.