Does philanthropy really help organized crime?

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This Monday morning, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) spoke about the actions of Mexico's drug cartels, which in recent days have dedicated themselves to delivering food pantries to poor communities in the country, describing it as “non-philanthropic” exercise. In the midst of the health and economic crisis that has developed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Mexico, images have circulated on social networks in which pantry boxes can be seen distributed by members of criminal organizations. This situation has been published and reported on social networks. Hitmen from the Gulf Cartel - hooded and with high-caliber weapons - are seen taking photographs together with people wearing pantries labeled with the name of that organization. They put a sign on each pantry: “Gulf Cartel, in support of Ciudad Victoria, Mr. 46, Vaquero,” who they point out to be the head of the Gulf Cartel in the capital of Tamaulipas. The boxes contain: rice, beans, oil and non-perishable cans. Likewise, the descendants of Joaquín “el Chapo” Guzmán delivered boxes with the face of the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel and which are being given to all those low-income people in Guadalajara.


The chapo-pantries contain rice, beans, sugar, cookies, various types of pasta for soup, puree, oil and toilet paper, which is delivered in a box with the Chapo 701 brand logo and a letter signed by Alejandrina Guzmán. In this regard, the Mexican president explained that these actions cannot be classified as philanthropy and invited the America Cell Phone Number List members of crime to think that it does not help anything if they deliver these groceries. “It helps that they stop committing crimes and not hurt people. They should think about their families and the families of their victims,” he said. He called for hitmen to change their lives, to commit to legality and to become aware of the damage they cause to people. “In the government we are working to find new life options for them and to stop being enrolled in criminal organizations. They should not cause violence and harm to the population,” he emphasized. “Instead of handing out groceries, organized crime organizations should stop their mischief,” the President emphasized.



In this regard, Felipe Gaytán Alcalá, professor and researcher in Sociology at La Salle University, declared that the delivery of drug trafficking supplies is not altruism and can be analyzed in four aspects: Economic: pantries entail having the loyalty of people and the loans they grant will allow them to launder money in microbusinesses. Social: the pantries revalue their role in the communities so that they are appreciated as a necessary organization in the region. Politics: pantries create political clientelism and control of local authorities. Cultural: pantries allow drug traffickers to become the local moral authority. Social uncertainty and the lack of governance of the government orders allow organized crime to occupy that place and take advantage of social need. “Because of hunger and poverty you can even sell your soul to the devil,” he revealed. The university professor cited that various investigations have documented that the poorest young sectors appreciate the drug trafficker as financial success and idealize him surrounded by the glamor of money, power, fame and women.