SENSE OF GLOOM PERVADES NUEVO LEON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTERREY 000473 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM PGOV ECON SNAR MX SUBJECT: SENSE OF GLOOM PERVADES NUEVO LEON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR REF: A) MONTERREY 438 B) 2007 MONTERREY 576 C) MONTERREY 459 MONTERREY 00000473 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) This cable is the first in a two-part series. This first part deals with public perceptions of the worsening security situation while the second will look at the lagging economy. ¶2. (SBU) Summary. The October 11 gunshot/grenade attack against the U.S. Consulate only deepened existing public gloom about the security situation in Nuevo Leon. Recent public surveys and public and private statements by private industry and government officials reveal deep concern about narcotics violence, kidnappings and corruption. The national leader of the Mexican Chamber of Commerce Coparmex publicly called on Nuevo Leon Governor Jose Natividad Gonzalez Paras to focus on security rather than cultural festivals, and also inveighed against a corrupt criminal justice system. For his part, Governor Gonzalez Paras has warned against drug cartel money infiltrating political campaigns. The sense of pessimism has caused some leaders to consider efforts to fundamentally change the prevailing culture. End Summary. Violence on the Increase ¶3. (U) The people of Nuevo Leon had long seen Monterrey as a safe, business oriented city immune from many of the problems of corruption and violence common in Mexico. However, given the rise in kidnappings and narcotics violence, this self image has shifted. In a recent survey by the leading newspaper El Norte, 68% of the public thought that security was the biggest problem facing the state, followed by corruption (16%). There has been a large increase in the percentage of people who know someone who has been the victim of a crime, rising from 19% in 2005 to 43% today, and 55% of the population fears being kidnapped. The public generally believes that drug cartels have infiltrated municipal police (88%),state police (86%),the federal PFP and AFI police (80%),but not the Mexican military (48%). Moreover, only 49% of the people would file a complaint if they were the victim of a crime, a strong indicator of the lack of confidence in the police. Finally, 80% of the people thought that there was much or at least some corruption within the state government. According to the press, the Nuevo Leon State Secretary for Public Security Aldo Fasci admitted that 50% of the municipal police forces have been infiltrated by narcotics traffickers. Note. This survey occurred before the October 11 attack on the Consulate. End Note. ¶4. (U) Private industry representatives and civil society have criticized Nuevo Leon Governor Gonzalez Paras' lack of focus on pressing security issues. On October 7 Ricardo Gonzalez Sada, the National President of the prominent business association Coparmex, strongly denounced Governor Gonzalez Paras while the Governor shared the podium with him. Gonzalez Sada criticized the Governor for spending his time on cultural festivals, rather than focusing on the fundamental issue of security. Gonzalez Sada also attacked the local Congress for engaging in partisan bickering rather than solving problems, and the government for its lack of response to a corruption complaint filed by a local NGO against Monterrey Mayor Madero. Gonzalez Sada further denounced the justice system, arguing that it responds to special interests, and claimed that hiring the right law firm (with the good political connections) was more important than the merits of the case. Governor Gonzalez Paras responded with his normal stump speech that these were the best of times in Nuevo Leon, citing infrastructure projects, employment creation and foreign direct investment. Meanwhile, local leaders of the citizens march for security (reftel A) complained that the Governor only spends 1.2 hours per day on security, not 3 hours as suggested by Colombian security experts. Another local NGO complained that the Governor has never made security a priority, echoing complaints made for years (see reftel B). Narco-Dollars Funding Campaigns? ¶5. (SBU) Governor Gonzalez Paras used his October 14 annual MONTERREY 00000473 002.2 OF 002 State of Nuevo Leon speech to warn against the risk of drug money infiltrating the 2009 political campaigns. The Governor urged the parties to choose candidates who were clean and were committed to maintaining positive and progressive values. Ironically, a subsequent press report showed that the leaders of the local PAN, PRD and PT parties had measures in place to avoid the injection of narcotics money into the campaign, but the press was unable to reach the local leader of the Governor's own PRI party. Although Poloff has heard repeated rumors that corruption is generating money for the Mayor of Monterrey's campaign for Governor, we have not heard specific allegations that drug money is flowing into the political campaigns. However, all analysts acknowledge that drug money could well enter political campaigns, and they do not have confidence that current electoral mechanisms can stop it. Desire for Fundamental Changes in the Political Culture; Getting to `Ya' ¶6. (U) CG and Poloff have spoken to a number of prominent leaders who were shocked by the brazen attack on the Consulate (see Reftel C). Mexican authorities and Consulate law enforcement personnel are still investigating the case, including the identity of the two assailants and the motive for the attack. However, many people in Nuevo Leon thought that attacking the U.S. Consulate was a line that would never be crossed, and it greatly deepens their concern about their own security. Those who have the means are openly talking about leaving Monterrey (and Mexico in general) to escape the violence. ¶7. (U) As the people of Nuevo Leon begin to see their city differently, there have been several initiatives to change the fundamental culture. The Washington-based `Culture of Lawfulness' NGO, which provides role-playing values training, follows the example of Sicily, where civil society successful changed the social culture to ostracize the mafia. This NGO is already providing training to state and local police cadets and is working on school programs. Moreover, during a October 15-17 NGO conference on educational philanthropy, there were additional requests to increase values inculcation through the Culture of Lawfulness program. Similarly, another NGO, Tierra Limpia seeks to transform Monterrey's culture through environmental cleanups, loosely following the `broken windows' theory of crime prevention that criminal behavior is less likely when citizens take care of public spaces. Although obviously these initiatives will not reverse narcotics violence alone, they indicate a perspective that Monterrey is no longer safe, and that major societal changes must be made to regain security. ¶8. (SBU) As one wealthy Monterrey real estate developer told us, what is necessary is for the region's business elite to collectively say `ya' (enough). Under this scenario, when that occurred, the energetic private sector would step in and partner with government to improve the situation. This is what happened when the Governor's prized 2007 cultural festival began to float adrift. Whether a late entry on the part of the private sector would be able to reverse years of neglect of the public security apparatus is a debatable question. ¶9. (U) See septel (forthcoming) for an analysis of how the worsening economic situation. WILLIAMSON