![]() ![]() This sometimes leaves the subject material in conflict with what the reader might think the theme of the chapter is (based on the chapter title), which can be a bit disconcerting. My only criticism of this first section of El Narco is that it switches back and forth between political history and narco history - ostensibly to follow a chronological path - and sometimes there aren't adequate transitions between the two. Politics in Mexico isn't an easy river to navigate, but Grillo does an admirable job explaining the role the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) played in negotiating and playing along with the cartels, and how the transition to real democracy in 2000 dramatically altered that delicate balance. I definitely learned quite a bit like the fact that opium poppies were first introduced into Mexico by the Chinese in the late 1800s, and the first man to orchestrate cocaine smuggling in Mexico was Honduran, not Mexican. It's a fascinating history lesson, interspersed with some really cool stories about different big personalities involved in the development of cocaine smuggling in Mexico, and why certain cartels started fighting each other in the first place. The first several chapters are dedicated to the rise of today's major cartels. I've been reading Ioan Grillo's work for some time, and he really gets it a fact made obvious in his first book, El Narco. ![]() But many times, because of what their job entails, they have a limited view of the big picture, or some of the more in-depth, nuanced issues. who have a really good handle on the situation in Mexico. Don't get me wrong there are dozens of academics, journalists, analysts, politicians, law enforcement agents, etc. Every so often in this business of following Mexico's drug war, I come across an analyst or writer who really gets it. ![]()
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