The war on drugs is a war that I find quite hypocritical. Often, the blame is placed on Latin American countries for not being able to stop drug trafficking throughout the region. I believe that the consumers of drugs are also part of this issue. A demand for drugs maintains the suppliers in business. I find some US politicians to be quite hypocritical on this issue. They refer to Latin America as having complete responsibility for the drug trade without addressing the issue of drug addiction in the United States. Even el Chapo said in his interview that without him, the drug trade would continue because of strong demand from countries such as the United States.

I found Rita De Grandis interview regarding the Argentine military regime to be very interesting. It is horrific to think that governments have pushed authoritarian agendas via the disappearance of citizens. I particularly liked her comment on valuing our right to vote and how she explained that she lived a lot of her life without having the right to vote. I completely agree with her comment on how every citizen should value her or his right to vote and exercise it whenever possible. I often get frustrated when I hear my peers say that they did not vote simply because of laziness. One should not become complacent when it comes to exercising an essential freedom that we should all value.

I believe that the mother, and grandmother peaceful movement against disappearances is a very effective way of speaking truth to power. I find that in times of volatility, people are often moved through emotions. The “Mothers of the Disappeared” movement was effective in showing the toll that disappearances had on families. It brought out the emotion that is sometimes necessary in receiving attention from authority and the public. As Dawson says, these disappeared individuals were no longer seen as statistics. They were now seen as someone’s brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, mother, or father. It was very disheartening to see that in the end, the Madres were targeted by the military regime and called “las locas”. I find that authoritarian regimes often attempt to claim that protestors are crazy in order to diminish the protestors’ grievances. It is angering to read that the regime went as low as to target and kill the mothers of the disappeared.

Reading about Reagan’s actions was also very angering. His backing for authoritarian regimes throughout Latin America is unacceptable. Those who refer to Reagan as a good president always perplex me. It is very saddening to read about feminicide throughout Latin America. I believe that feminicide is best eliminated through education, fair judicial procedures, and work safety laws. Pervasive sexist attitudes have to be eliminated through education (at all levels) in order to eliminate feminicides. I’d like to ask whether globalization has played a part in an increase in feminicides? I’d also like to discuss whether legalization and taxation of certain drugs in Latin America, Canada, and the USA could lead to the end of the drug war?