Up to today, since the Mexican government deployed the military in 2006 up to the present, Mexico has experienced close to 200,000 battle deaths. That's roughly the number of battle deaths that took place in the civil war in Guatemala. So, the 36 year old civil war in Guatemala that produced approximately 200,000 battle deaths. That's where Mexico is right now. Guillermo Trejo A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a brief primer on Mexican politics here. Guillermo Trejo is an Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame. Sandra Ley is an Assistant Professor at CIDE’s Political Studies Division in Mexico City. They are the authors of Votes, Drugs, and Violence: The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico.  Key Highlights Include A vivid description of the effects of the criminal wars in MexicoHow autocracy allows for the proliferation of organized crimeWhy Mexico remains an 'illiberal democracy'How polarization exacerbated criminal violence in MexicoThe importance of deeper degrees of democratization Key Links Votes, Drugs, and Violence: The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico by Guillermo Trejo and Sandra Ley Follow Guillermo Trejo on Twitter @Gtrejo29 Follow Sandra Ley on Twitter @sjleyg Democracy Paradox Podcast Michael Miller on the Unexpected Paths to Democratization James Loxton Explains Why Authoritarian Successor Parties Succeed in Democracies More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Democracy Group Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at [email protected] Follow on Twitter @DemParadox Follow on Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy