Mexican cartels strategize to win hearts and minds
Comments 13
March 24, 2011 5:50 AM
The Brownsville Herald

Bullets have been sprayed and blood spilled in the ongoing struggle among Mexico's Gulf Cartel, its erstwhile allies the Zetas and the government.

But against the backdrop of violence that has claimed more than 35,000 lives since December 2006, the trio has also waged a concerted war for the hearts and minds of the populace. Using public relations tools that include banners, leaflets and releases to the news media, each has sought to cast itself in a positive light relative to its enemies.

Public support has its benefits for the cartels, not least of which is the ability to conduct their illicit business without drawing undue attention and interference from the authorities, said George W. Grayson, a professor of government at the College of William & Mary and author of Mexico: Narco-Violence and a Failed State?. Indeed, that was largely how the cartels operated in the €˜80s and €˜90s.

€œThey could import, store, transport and export as long as they followed the rules, Grayson said. €œThe (rules) included no kidnapping, no selling drugs to children and if they had any issues among themselves to take it outsideâ€Â