"Transnational Narco-Corruption and Narco-Investment: A Focus on Mexico" by Peter Lupsha, Transnational Organized Crime, Spring 1995 Lupsha, an expert on Mexican history, society and politics, gives a brief history of Mexican drug cartels, focusing on four key ones which have connections to the top of the Mexican political system and to the Colombian and Peruvian cartels. Lupsha also explores the question - is Mexico an emerging narco-democracy?

DEA Administrator Thomas A.Constantine's February 1997 Congressional Testimony This is the DEA's analysis of the major Mexican traffickers focusing on their Colombian cartel links, and their ongoing ability to corrupt and intimidate law enforcement.

"The Banquet" from Andres Oppenheimer's Bordering on Chaos--Guerrillas, Stockbrokers, Politicians, and Mexico's Road to Prosperity Details of the 1993 private dinner party for thirty of Mexico's wealthiest business tycoons at which each guest was asked to donate $25 million to the upcoming presidential campaign.

"Certifiable - Mexico's Corruption, Washington's Indifference" by Susan E. Reed, The New Republic, 3/17/97 Reed shows how Mexico has become the #1 "narcotics superhighway" to the U.S. and offers a hardhitting critique of the Clinton Administration's reasons for casting a blind eye to Mexico's drug corruption.

"Muerto Inc." A profile of the Arellano brothers - the Tijuana-based cartel the DEA considers the most violent and aggressive of Mexico's border cartels, by Michael Goodman, Los Angeles Magazine. April 1997

"Mexico as a Narco-Democracy" This World Policy Journal article (Spring 1995) by Silvana Paternostro is a sharp, in-depth examination of Mexico's history of smuggling and drug trafficking. The author looks at what underlies Washington's long habit of ignoring Mexico's role in the hemisphere's drug trade.

Interview with author Carlos Fuentes This 1994 interview in New Perspectives Quarterly examines the meaning of the Chiapas rebellion, in particular, its relationship to race/caste issues, economic policy and NAFTA. Fuentes argues reform in Chiapas is inextricably linked to building a multicultural Mexican democracy. Offers an overview of Mexican politics and society in the past decade.

"Mexico's Financial Crisis is Political, and the Remedy Is Democracy" A critique of President Salinas's administration which was written by Carlos Fuentes toward the end of Salinas's presidency. It blames Mexico's difficulties on the vast powers of the Mexican presidency and on the lack of "checks and balances" and "accountability" in Mexican government-- Fuentes observes these terms aren't even translatable into Spanish. Ends with the "Ten Commandments for Mexican Democracy," beginning with electoral reform.

"Mexico Prognosis for Stability" This 1994 report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service is a backgrounder focusing on the Zapatista rebel uprising in January 1994. In the course of examining Chiapas, it details Mexico's political history for the past ten years offering a framework for understanding current events in Mexico. Ends with a summary of the challenges facing Ernesto Zedillo's government.

"History Moving North" This February 1997 Atlantic Monthly article by Robert Kaplan looks at Mexican society's ongoing transformations. Kaplan sees in Mexico a "nuanced example of state failure" and he outlines how the society's fragmentation will impact the United States.

"While You Were Sleeping" A chilling December 1996 Harper's article on the violence in the border city of Ciudad Juarez which has become a main point of entry for drugs into the U.S. and is the headquarters of the Juarez cartel. Writer Charles Bowden hangs out with local photographers who photograph the drug-related killings and, the bodies of raped and murdered young girls who work in the maquiladoras

"Political Corruption and Drug Trafficking in Mexico-Impunity for High-Level Officials Spurs Lawlessness and the Growth of Drug Cartels." Andrew A. Reding's 1995 testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations at its hearing on "The Drug Trade in Mexico and U.S. Policy Implications.