Bureaucratic Infrastructure Matters: the Case of the Fight against the Organized Crime in Mexico

On the one hand, political corruption has very negative effects on the economy and development of countries and societies. Perceived corruption is significantly associated with less satisfaction with democracy, less satisfaction with government, more of a sense that breaking rules is justifiable, less institutional trust, less interpersonal trust, and less interest in politics. On the other hand, organized crime has a pernicious impact on governance and economic development. Organized crime and political corruption go together because mafia type activities tend to erode the integrity of those holding a public office, including those responsible for upholding the rule of law. Where organized crime groups are powerful, legislation, policy-making and legal rulings no longer serve the general interest but the interests of the few. These dark networks are very dangerous for the rule of law and can produce failed states. Tolerating organized crime implies letting grand corruption penetrate into government and destroy the bedrock of the State. The research question of this article is: Is it possible to fight against the organized crime without a professional and meritocratic bureaucracy? The hypothesis is that it is essential to have a meritocratic State infrastructure so that the fight against dark networks will be effective. According to different studies, well performing police services and independent, professional judiciaries seem to make a difference in controlling organized crime. In order to validate these statements, it has been chosen the case of Mexico's fight against drugs. This war is having serious strategic problems and risks a possible failure. Following the line of discussion, the author believes that one of the most important causes of this situation is the lack of a bureaucratic police system. It has been studied the human resources management of the Mexican police and it has been found very serious breakdown in the system. Building on this research and previous scholarly studies of State formation processes, the basic proposition of this paper is that a bureaucratic infrastructure affects institutions and social outcomes. Mexico's fight against drugs shows us how important is having a meritocratic and professional police when confronting organized crime.