Mexico is in chaos today after the death of cartel chief Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, aka ‘El Mencho,’ triggered a nationwide lockdown. The government’s response? More militarization, more repression, and more empty promises. But let’s be clear: this isn’t a crisis of law and order. It’s a crisis of the state itself—a system that has failed the people of Mexico for decades, leaving them at the mercy of cartels, corrupt politicians, and U.S. imperialism. **The Cartel State** Mexico’s cartels aren’t just criminal organizations—they’re parallel governments, filling the void left by the state’s neglect. They provide jobs, security, and even social services in communities abandoned by the government. El Mencho’s death isn’t just the fall of a drug lord—it’s the collapse of a power structure that has dominated swaths of Mexico for years. The violence erupting now isn’t random. It’s the result of a power vacuum, as rival factions scramble to control territory, trade routes, and local economies. The state’s response—a nationwide lockdown—isn’t about protecting people. It’s about maintaining the illusion of control. **The State’s Uselessness** Mexico’s government has proven time and again that it cannot protect its people. The military, the police, and the political class are either complicit in the cartels’ operations or too weak to stop them. The lockdown won’t solve anything. It’s a band-aid on a gaping wound, a desperate attempt to appear in charge while the country burns. The real solution isn’t more state power—it’s the opposite. Communities need to organize themselves, outside and against the state, to provide real security, real justice, and real alternatives to the cartel economy. **The U.S. Role in the Crisis** Let’s not forget who fuels this chaos: the U.S. The demand for drugs north of the border keeps the cartels in business. U.S. gun laws arm them. U.S. military aid props up Mexico’s corrupt security forces. And U.S. economic policies, from NAFTA to the war on drugs, have devastated Mexico’s economy, pushing millions into poverty and driving them into the arms of the cartels. The U.S. doesn’t want to end the drug trade—it wants to control it, using Mexico as a battleground in its endless wars. **Why This Matters:** Mexico’s crisis is a stark reminder that the state is not our protector. It’s a tool of the powerful, whether they wear a badge, a suit, or a cartel emblem. The only way out of this mess is for communities to take control of their own lives—organizing mutual aid networks, building autonomous zones, and creating economies that don’t rely on exploitation. The cartels and the state feed off each other. The people must reject both. The lockdown won’t save Mexico. Only the people can, by building power from the ground up. The time for revolution is now—not in the halls of power, but in the streets, the barrios, and the workplaces where real change happens.
