7 ms·
Anyone able to provide any context as to why the cartels would care about a town like this? As far as I am able to tell, the town is not: a tourist area, on a
by V2hLe0ThslzRaV2 9y ago
Anyone able to provide any context as to why the cartels would care about a town like this?
As far as I am able to tell, the town is not: a tourist area, on a main route to anywhere, bordering the US, etc.
- 24gttghh 9y agoI would think laundering money through the export of avocados would be quite lucrative.
- brixon 9y agoIt leaves the money with a distinct smell.
- notfromhere 9y agoProtection money. Cartels have more revenue streams than just drug trafficking. At this point, cartels want to control territory to prevent rival cartels from controlling territory. Less drug gang more fiefdom
- walterbell 9y agoHow is their protection/tax rate calculated - revenue, profit, land size, number of people?
- ptaipale 9y agoI'd guess more likely "pay as much as you can, and a bit more". A bit like the tax authorities in any country, but even more callous and without public scrutiny.
- adrianratnapala 9y agoPay as much as we can sustainably demand, given the political realities of this time and place. And you are right, that is exactly what all tax authorities do. It's important to get those political realities right.
- notfromhere 9y agotax authorities tax based on income or value at set percentages. cartels pretty much extract what they can arbitrarily.
- philipodonnell 9y agoThat made me chuckle. At least as far as the US tax code goes, our decisions about who gets taxed what amounts are just as arbitrary, we just publish the amounts further ahead of time than the mafia tax collectors.
- notfromhere 9y agoexcept, you know, the mafia doesn't use the money to build bridges and fund social programs.
- adventured 9y agoFunny enough, almost all forms of the mafia in fact do social works projects. Their scale has historically not been large enough to build bridges though, however they almost all fund social programs to one degree or another. The Italian Mafia both in NY and Italy have done that. Escobar did it. Al Capone did it. Etc. One can certainly debate their reasoning for doing it of course (eg buying goodwill so they can continue their crime spree, set up an underdog appeal and so on).
- ptaipale 9y agoTrue. Even terror organisations like Daesh (ISIS) or Hamas use social programs to justify what they do and attract supporters.
- maze-le 9y agoWell, for one thing the cartels have forced parts of the civilian population -- especially in Michoacan-- to work for them (farming poppy; processing raw opium; spies and lookouts). These people are then affected by narco inter-gang violence, since they are viewed as part of the organisation thay are forced to work for. This also explains the large number of "gang-members" killed, when the mexican state publishes numbers on the death toll of the drug war. Another thing is a system of "taxation", narco gangs put on these people. They have to pay the taxman from the state, as well as protection money to the rackets. For a great documentary on this topic (this and how the people are trying to defend themselvs) I can point you to "Cartel Land" -- available on Netflix.
- jordigh 9y agoThe price of avocados has soared worldwide thanks to memes like avocado toast. Avocados themselves are now valuable enough for cartels. They're calling it green gold. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-41635008 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-41635008 http://www.businessinsider.com/mexican-farmers-in-michoacan-rely-on-vigilantes-to-protect-avocados-2017-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/mexican-farmers-in-michoacan-... http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-01-30/news/0801300071_1_avocado-consumption-mexican-avocados-avocado-production http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-01-30/news/080130007... It has now become a joke to say "échale aguacate", (throw in some avocado) to express something like "go all out" or "be a big spender". https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CmUQfURW8AAYQpY.jpg https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CmUQfURW8AAYQpY.jpg
- lotsofpulp 9y agoI think it's more likely that many people like the taste of avocados and avocado products.
- mc32 9y agoAlso helping is the reassessment of "all fat" is bad. Similar to what we are seeing with eggs. They are making a dietary comeback.
- erikpukinskis 9y agoA delicious food is worthless without culutural knowledge about how to prepare it. Thus the attribution of cause to the meme, not the fruit itself, which has existed a very long time.
- toomanybeersies 9y agoI don't think the avocado toast meme has spawned the popularity of avocados, but rather the other way around. Avocados have become very popular in the low-carb/paleo/"health" community, alongside coconut oil, and various other trending foods. I don't think that people have been lacking the knowledge to put avocado on toast until a meme about millennials never being able to buy a house due to spending too much money on avocado on toast.
- methehack 9y agoBecause a corrupt government can be purchased as an ally but a farmer defending his family and way of life cannot?
- ichbinedgar 9y agoTancitaro produce a lot of high quality avocados. Cartels force people into paying some money or "tax" (it depends on how wealthy the person/company is) in exchange of "protection". They can punish / kill / kidnap people when they choose not to pay [1]. The problem is not only located at that town, other areas are affected and working in the same way. The federal government do nothing to solve any of the issues, instead they pay large quantity of money for positive news [2], you don't see this kind of news on the TV. It's sad. Source: [1]My father is from the Tancitaro town area. [2]https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/25/world/americas/mexico-press-government-advertising.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/25/world/americas/mexico-pre...