Propaganda in the Mexican Drug War

During the ongoing Mexican drug war, drug cartels use propaganda through media and scare tactics to gain more control of its people and in many cases corrupting the government. The main goals are to glorify actions of the drug cartels and their lifestyle, gain control of the Mexican society to the highest extent possible, and to recruit new, educated, high class members to increase their power even further. These drug cartels use of propaganda and scare tactics are used in precise, complex and clever ways to get the most out of every action, resulting in their enormous power.The cartels have adopted the word “narco” to pertain to anything relating to the cartels, and it has spread to be a part of everyday Mexican slang. Narcocultura is the criminal culture of the drug cartels. There are music, television shows, literature, beverages, food, and architecture that all have been branded ""narco"". Narcorridos are Mexican country songs glorifying the lifestyles of drug lords. They are typically produced by artists working with or being paid by Mexican drug lords. Cartels hang narco-banners up around cities to advertise themselves and threaten rival cartels. They also distribute narco-flyers, used for the same purposes as the narco-banners, by handing them out to people, scattering and posting them around cities, and leaving them near the bodies of homicide victims. A brand of beer, Malverde Beer, was named after a Mexican folklore character revered by drug traffickers, and the patron saint of drug trafficking.The drug cartels’ use of propaganda through new media has increased significantly as the primary source of connection with the people. It’s seen as a war tactic against the Mexican government, taking its people and putting them against themselves.Many times cartels use bribery or threats against journalists and publications to report the cartels in a good light. They also bribe or threaten members of the local law enforcement to look the other way when drug trafficking crimes are committed. Blog Del Narco was a blog that reported the true violence and nature of the drug war and drug cartels. It would report news often censored from other publications. It was shut down by the government after threats were made by cartels in the form of a message left on the bodies of two unidentified homicide victims.There is activism against the influence of the drug cartels. Anti-narcocorrido music is songs that denounce drug lords and drug trafficking. The anti-narcocorridos consist of modern music styles with heavy synthesizing, which makes it very different from the narcocorridos sound. Local police and the country’s military work actively to prevent drug trafficking, discouraging recruits into drug cartels.