(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in Mexico would oppose any attempt to legalize the use and commercialization of certain drugs, according to a poll by Consulta Mitofsky. 69 per cent of respondents would reject such a proposal, while 27 per cent would support it.

Mexican voters chose their new president in July 2006. Official results placed Felipe Calderón of the National Action Party (PAN) as the winner with 36.68 per cent of all cast ballots. Calderón—a former energy secretary—took over as Mexico’s head of state in December. The president’s main priorities have been fiscal reform and a "frontal war" against drug traffickers in the country’s northern and south-western states.

In April 2006, the Mexican Senate voted 53-26 to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin. The bill—which had already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies—also sought to increase penalties for the commercialization and possession of larger amounts of such drugs.

In early May, then-president Vicente Fox decided not to sign the bill, and sent it back to the legislative branch, claiming lawmakers had to come up with "the necessary corrections to make it absolutely clear that in our country the possession and consumption of drugs is and will continue to be a crime."

Earlier this year, lawmakers from the opposition Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) proposed creating a national agreement against organized crime that would include legalizing and regulating drug consumption and sales, and increasing government spending on drug-rehabilitation centers. PRD congressman René Arce explained the benefits of this proposal, saying, "Drug-trafficking earns drug-lords and those who protect them enormous revenues, and it is calculated that in Mexico, this business is worth about $30 billion U.S. a year. (...) This is why we must think about the benefits of drug legalization in order to dismantle the structure that supports illegal drug trade."

It is unlikely that Calderón will endorse the PRD’s proposal. The Mexican president and United States counterpart George W. Bush are currently discussing how to implement a strategy to combat organized crime in Mexico similar to the U.S.-led "Plan Colombia" in the South American nation. Mexico could receive up to $1.2 billion U.S. in financial assistance to implement this plan.

On Aug. 21, Calderón asked Bush to help with his crackdown on drug-trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border, claiming that a bi-lateral effort is necessary because drug-lords "are coordinated on both sides of the border; we are not.’’

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