

María Santos Gorrostieta

María Santos Gorrostieta Salazar, former mayor of Tiquicheo, was found dead on November 15th, aged 36

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RIP María Santos Gorrostieta

Case like this makes me very doubtful of Mexico's so called "rebirth" or "new dawn". It all sounds like hyped up hot air anyway, even before knowing this case.


Currently Russia loses about 750,000 people a year from drug and alcohol abuse, Getting a population addicted to drugs is a effective strategy, The thing with drug addiction unlike other forms of confrontation, is its self perpetuating and drains tremendous societal resources, Drug addicts will produce offspring that are also the same in a never ending cycle.
Opiat of the masses, the US is ripe market, more lucrative than the current synthetics being pushed in Russia, Potentially supporting both the cartels and the drug legalization movements in the US could be a windfall for non Western countries, the US has tremendous resources that could be tapped once it is malleable enough.


Rather tasteless obit, lady deserved better, more questions than answers here.
The War On Drugs is stupidity itself, repeating the same mistake endlessly and expecting a different result.
Legalisation is the only sane route away from mayhem, who would call Diageo for instance drug peddlers although clearly this is their business , regulated and taxed, like Philip Morris.
This so-called War has been nothing but a feeding trough for fools with guns, spraying forests with weed killer and enriching murderers to the extent they can threaten the viability of whole countries in the region.

Michael Watson in reply to Cuchullen

I am bewildered by this comment. While being heartbreakingly painful to read, the fine sensitivity of the obituary's wording could only have been achieved by a writer of acute sensibility and remarkable skill.

I am even more bewildered by seeing, at my time of writing, that the comment has received 10 recommendations.



The whole decision to legalize pot in some states will not stop the drug war, instead the cartels will just shift resources to other drugs or run pot from legal states to non legal.

The source of the problem will always be demand, thinking legalizing pot would somehow curtail drug cartel violence has to be the dumbest thing pothead and liberals could convince the increasing idiotic American public into believing. Either legalize all drugs, or work to reduce demand. Me I recommend legalizing all drugs so the US will collapse more quickly, worked in China with the Opium wars should work in the US.

HyunSmith in reply to HyunSmith

If China hopes to gain supremacy and create trade treaties in its favor so it can enjoy the high standard of living like Europe did in Asia during the last 200 years, then it must weaken the US and Europe indirectly from within I do like the whole drug approach more, obviously it would be too obvious today if China sold drugs directly to the US like the British did in China, if China could strengthen, support the cartels and add the technical know how (Chemist) to create ever more addicting drugs, it would be a much more practical way of undermining the US. This in addition to other soft power approaches, trade, cyber espinoge, are probably much more effective than a direct military approach.

Nobody argues that legalizing pot will solve the whole War on Drugs fiasco. Certainly not just having it legal in some states (but still illegal under Federal law). But it is a step on the road to sanity on this subject. And every step should be appreciated.

Cosmonaut in reply to HyunSmith


What on earth are you talking about? Chinese standards of living will not rise if the US and Europe are weakened socially. The total value of trade between China and Europe/America is almost a trillion dollars annually. Who is China going to sell to if the US collapses?

Nathan W in reply to HyunSmith

When the size of the market is smaller, fewer firms will be in the market and/or existing firms will be smaller. In some exceptional cases, market dynamics may result in much fewer firms, which are larger than average size before.

Take weed out of the picture, and explain to me how these economic truths will fail to apply to the case of drug markets. When kidnapping and drug running are linked, cutting the size of the entire market may lead to some extra kidnappings in the short run as they scour the environment for revenues, but ultimately, smaller market size should be accompanied by the theoretical truths I began with.

a taxpaying small business operator who wants to travel in world where medical marijuana users (and potheads) need not fear the law


For some interesting and entertaining insights into the war on drugs, I highly recommend the HBO series "the wire" created by David Simon. Certainly one of the best TV productions ever made. Somewhat of topic, I'm sorry. This poor woman's story is just too horrible, what can there be left to say. I'm not a user of illegal drugs, I'm afraid that's all I can do to honor her death.


BruceM. So agree with you. I remember an article in Esquire in 1968 I believe by Gore Vidal who already promoted the same theory pushing further along the corruption of police forces, judges etc in all countries. I once knew a C.A. who filed the tax return for a drug lord in jail in Florida whose wife would fly to London by Concord to have her hair done...


BruceM. So agree with you. I remember an article in Esquire in 1968 I believe by Gore Vidal who already promoted the same theory pushing further along to the corruption of police forces, judges


Owing "nothing to no one" is not how it works. Plata or plomo, silver or lead... I have no doubt that the drug cartels told her to do something for them, and if she did it she'd get a lot of money, if not, she'd be killed. "I just want to stay out of it and work for the people of my village" isn't an acceptable answer. You can be corrupt or dead, there's no 3rd choice. They may give you one or two chances to show they mean business.

If drugs were legal, this woman and her husband would still be alive. ALL DRUGS, not just pot. When Phizer is making the cocaine in government approved factories, ensuring it's 100% pure and unadulterated and of known quantity/strength, it will be safer than alcohol and the people who killed her will be out of business. They won't have a say in the matter. That's the only way to stop them. Take away their profits. Even if you catch one, another will take over. Policing does nothing. Too much money involved. Too much demand involved. You'd think we'd learn something from alcohol prohibition... but no. We're that stupid, and only getting dumber.

If only we could silence the emotional pedophiles who keep the drug war going by constantly blabbing about "the children, the children" (as they shove adderall and prozac down their own kids' throats).


It would have been nice for her eulogy to focus more on her actual role as "former mayor of Tiquicheo" rather than a commentary on her physical attractiveness and brutalization. Some mention of her accomplishments, or her political career, or her impact on the city would have been appropriate. The way this article runs, she just sounds like any other victim of the drug wars.
Rest in peace.

rfmJF2B4oL in reply to AX1990

I agree. With a mayor like this who clearly did much more than be very pretty, why would you start out an article like this? It's not like she's a movie star, where such a thing would have been justified.

dchari in reply to rfmJF2B4oL

Exactly my thoughts. "Pert"? "Hourglass figure"? "Enchanting" smile? Is this The Economist or a tabloid? A male politician would never be described thus - especially not in an OBITUARY, for God's sake. This is absolutely shameful.


This story brings tears to my eyes.
I'm not certain at whom I should direct my frustration and anger:
The drug gangs of Mexico or their "customers" (as the former would not exist without the latter).
Yes I agree with other readers that this is a well deserved eulogy.
Rest in peace Maria Santos Gorrostieta.

William B Boothe in reply to Saulsa1

You frustration should be directed at the policy makers that have waged this war on drugs. This is the Economist, so I should not have to explain the economic fallacies behind the attempt of a drug war. The policies skews incentives making drug gangs rich and customers poor and desperate. Your anger should be over the failed attempts at regulating morality at the price of thousands of innocent lives. Here in the US we tried these policies with alcohol and it resulted in the exact same result. Alcohol gangs and the loss of many lives. Now that we have legalized the sale of alcohol it is sold in stores instead of on the street and the alcohol gangs are gone.

oweing in reply to William B Boothe

Yes, prohibition did all of that. Yet still most drugs are illegal, and while it makes drug sellers money, we still do not have 10,000 people murdered (some brutally) a year because of drugs. Why, because the will of the people and government is united in this regard. The people can phone the police without fear of some corrupt cop letting gang members know who narked on them. Your simple answer to avoid a drug war by legalizing everything takes in no moral consequence to the action. You cannot take away moral consequences from economic consequences. Maybe it would be good for some inner city neighborhoods to be proclaimed "dry zones" free from alcohol whose ready availability has destroyed many lives. I am sure that a black market of booze would begin, but it might break the cycle as well.

William B Boothe in reply to oweing

I understand that our institutions are better equipped to deal with negative outcomes of our war on drugs though the will of the people is almost split in regards to this issue. Locking up inner city youths for the distribution and possession of narcotics has had a far higher impact on these peoples lives than alcohol. Once in the system for drug-related offences offenders typically stay in the system and never really manage to have productive lives due to the smears on their records. As for the morality of a drug war, it is clear that we are turning a victim-less crime into a crime that claims thousands per year. How is it moral to use force to try to control what an individual chooses to consume. How is it moral to blanket spray fields were coca is being grown with pesticides that kills the plants but also makes people sick. How is it moral to do all this when we see the result is gang lords getting rich off of an artificially decreased supply. Trends show that peoples opinions are shifting on this issue. They are starting to see that prohibition comes with greater cost than rewards and for the individuals consuming illegal narcotics, the most dangerous part is getting caught.

Medicine4theDead in reply to oweing

You speak of consequences to actions and yet ignore all the moral consequences of the reality of prohibition. Your deluded belief that this will all end when golly gee whiz we all chip in together is just that - deluded.

surfson in reply to Saulsa1

Here's what we need to do to honor this woman and impact this tragedy: We need a propaganda blitz that uses words like "Caborde'" (coward) "Desgraciado" (disgraced) "Estupido" pretty sure you get that one; and last but not least "Puto del dinero" (money slut). To address the anonymous malfeasors here. By radio, ballad songs and TV commercials and billboards. And show the typical profile of the kind of persons dealing in this activity. Drop leaflets and use the anonymous attack tactics being used on the law abiding by these sorry excuses for human beings that commit these crimes. Hire psychologists to help create the ads. Use the power of words and image. WE need not: do nothing, in despair!

Surely one of the news media companies BBC, NBC, CBS etc. can set up a cost deferral donating account; no? Please TE help me move this boulder.

Rincewind_wizzard in reply to oweing

There are other ways - drugs need not be sold freely to anybody, but once somebody is classified as an addict, he should be given any drugs (made by Pfizer, maybe) for free. This would take the paying consumer out of the mafia revenue stream. Professionally made drugs should be safer, and perhaps tweaked to have some tranquilizing effects, to prevent druggies from misbehaving.

I wonder if the war on drugs in its present form is indeed some part of a greater design to control the populace or wage covert wars between countries, because its effect on actual drug use is questionable to say the least.

Towellman in reply to William B Boothe

Your argument that repealing prohibition saved lives and would fix the gang problem in Mexico is very flawed. There is a good NYT op-ed that debunks your claim that murders sky-rocketed with Prohibition then plumeted with repeal. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/opinion/sunday/the-not-so-roaring-20s....
When you you compare the 32 states that were already "dry" before national prohibition with the wet ones and factor in demographic differences between the 1910's and 1930's there is between and 5% decrease and 13% increase in murders attributable to prohibition. The flawed stats of doubling of murders during the period come from the fact that homicides were only included in census data from 4 states prior to 1921( not the most violent), but were included in the '30s.
So prohibition might have led to a temporary rise in a few hundred extremely well publicized murders (gang murder headlines made the newsmen rich).
Today over 75,000 people a year die from alcohol related causes, many of them innocent victims of drunk drivers and virtually all ignored by the national media. 75,000 lives a year is at least an oder of magnitude (10x) higher than the slightly increased murder rate seen during prohibition.
I'd rather live in a state that rejects vice rather than "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

DrCaligari in reply to Towellman

Specious reasoning. I dare say that your 75,000 deaths (majority lifestyle related with alcohol as a contributory cause) would still occur regardless of prohibition. This is in addition to the gang's, violence, criminalisation, cost of enforcement, loss of productivity and so on associated with prohibition...

A tiresome argument.

William B Boothe in reply to Towellman

That is interesting Towellman but just like most of the governments solutions to our problems they tend to only make them worse. Here is some data from the CATO institute, which was actually gathered by supporters of prohibition at the time, that shows that, yes, the rate of alcohol consumption initially dropped after prohibition began but subsequently spiked. Another downfall to prohibition on alcohol, and this is analogous to our current prohibition on narcotics, was that it became more dangerous to consume alcohol due to its unknown origins, strength and purity. Beer and wine which just weren't worth smuggling anymore were replaced with products with higher alcohol content. Many novice alcohol distillers made poisonous batches or some even used industrial alcohol which contained dangerous adulterants, a government requirement for industrial alcohol.According to Thomas Coffey, "the death rate from poisoned liquor was appallingly high throughout the country. In 1925 the national toll was 4,154 as compared to 1,064 in 1920."
Another downfall was that prior to prohibition excise or "sin" taxes on alcohol was a major source of revenue which vanished with prohibition and then add on to that the huge increase in cost of enforcing prohibition and you can see the fiscal problems associated with prohibition. Any way you look at it, Prohibition was just a failed policy.


This new alcalde sounds like a coward. He'll probably live to a ripe old age and impact nothing.

Rest in peace, María Santos Gorrostieta Salazar.


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