THE BORDER REPORT

Take a look at this story in El Imparcial about a lawsuit filed against the German gun manufacturer, Heckler and Koch. The company was prohibited from selling weapons in specific Mexican states, Chihuahua, Guerrero, Jalisco, and Chiapas - all states with relatively recent conflicts between indigenous populations, like the EZLN, and the Mexican government.

The weapons, mind you, are being sold to law enforcement in the rest of Mexico. In fact, H&K carried the sole contract up until 2007 I believe to arm the Mexican military with G36s. They're being phased out in favor of the Mexican industried FX-05 Xiuhcoatl. But from my conversation with a source in the U.S. State Department this morning, it is the Mexican government who decides which states it is prohibited for companies to sell to.

The government didn't prohibit the sales to states like Sinaloa, Sonora, Baja California and Tamaulipas. Not even to Michoacan. Instead, the government of Mexico seems to be the most wary of states where active indigenous populations could pose a threat. In another context, la ameneza les viene de los indios, no de los narcos. Chihuahua could be an exception, of course, but I doubt it, Guerrero and Chiapas certainly don't have their own powerful cartels. They have however, have had populations threatening the Mexican government's right to exist in their boundaries.

I find that fascinating and a somewhat realistic view of what this border's all about. There's often talk of Cd. Juarez as a failed city. Some journalists have made it their life's mission to steadfastly destroy the city's reputation as a slowly collapsing exit into the rise of the narco-state. Yet recent economic reports suggest cross-border trade is up along the Texas, in some places more than 25 percent from last year, in spite of the cartel conflicts.

Perhaps the Mexican government feels it can bargain with the cartels in ways it cannot with its indigenous population.