Why read Votes, Drugs, and Violence?

Book cover of Votes, Drugs, and Violence: The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico

Book description

One of the most surprising developments in Mexico's transition to democracy is the outbreak of criminal wars and large-scale criminal violence. Why did Mexican drug cartels go to war as the country transitioned away from one-party rule? And why have criminal wars proliferated as democracy has consolidated and elections have…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Votes, Drugs, and Violence as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Scott Mainwaring

Author

Trejo and Ley’s Votes, Drugs, and Violence highlights the devastating impact of Mexico’s drug wars has had on democracy and society. The death toll from Mexico’s drug wars far exceeds the one from the dirty wars waged by South American dictators from the 1960s through the 1980s and the death toll from El Salvador’s and Peru’s civil wars of the 1980s. Paradoxically, subnational alternations in power that removed the long-standing ruling authoritarian party of 1929-2000 from power helped to fuel the drug wars, which in turn have undermined democracy and unleashed horrific human rights abuses. Votes, Drugs, and Violence gave…

From Scott's list on The best books on democracy today from a scholar of democracy.