This talk was given during the Stanford's "Disruption: Challenges of a New Era" conference organized by Fundacion RAP,  in March 2017. Beatriz Magaloni, a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, presents results of her work on social order and violence in Latin America, with a focus on her research in Brazil and Mexico.

Production: Roger Winkelman, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford. 

“We found that when the government came to arrest or kill the leaders of the drug cartels . . . the structure of crime became disorganized and often made things worse because the leaders of the drug cartels had some capacity to control their armed soldiers. When the [federal police] removed them, they created these short-term spikes in violence that resulted from drug-trafficking gangs fighting each other for turf or for leadership of their criminal organization” says Beatriz Magaloni, Director of the Poverty and Governance Project a CDDRL/FSI Senior Fellow for Stanford Magazine. Read the whole article here.

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The infographic shows the claims presidential candidate Donald Trump made during the first debate versus facts. For the big picture, click here. 

OPINION:

By now it should be clear that Donald Trump has not paid federal taxes, probably for many years, hence his reticence to publicly release his income tax returns. This infographic was prepared after the first presidential debate, to provide some back-of-the-envelope calculations of taxes paid by Mexicans in the United States, both documented and undocumented.

Those taxes contribute to the U.S. economy and to the many services, such as schools, clinics and infrastructure that we all enjoy. The infographic also highlights that all evidence suggests NAFTA had a very small (but positive) impact on the U.S. economy and that a repeal of the North American Free Trade Agreement would disrupt millions of U.S. jobs that depend on trade with Mexico. Abandoning NAFTA would have cataclysmic effects on the Mexican economy, only adding to migratory pressures. It could even threaten U.S. security by pushing young unemployed Mexicans into illegal activities, such as drug trafficking.

Finally, the infographic highlights one additional element of the presidential debate that received relatively little scrutiny. This relates to the way taxes are in Europe and Latin America using a Value Added Tax (VAT), instead of the system in the United States that depends on state and local sales taxes. American companies are not taxed by Mexico in any protectionist manner. The functioning of VAT is somewhat complex, because it involves paying the tax at the point of sale, but also deducing any taxes paid. VAT rules are what allow American tourists visiting Europe to get a refund on the taxes they paid on the merchandise they take home. Perhaps due to ignorance regarding how VAT collection works, the false asseveration by Trump went largely unchallenged in public debate.

Citizens around the world are concerned about the efficient use of taxes and the likelihood of waste and possible corruption in government spending. A basic premise of living in a political community is that all of us have an obligation to contribute our fair share. We may disagree about what that fair share might be, and whether the rich should pay more than the poor. But there is no question that the Mexicans whom the Republican candidate intends to deport, as well as those legal residents and citizens, contribute far more to our nation than he does. According to many news reports, Trump has not paid federal taxes nor has he contributed personal funds to the charities supported by his foundation. His philosophy regarding solidarity toward others seems to have been expressed quite explicitly during the first debate:

"But I take advantage of the laws of the nation because I am running the company. My obligation right now is to do well for myself, my family, my employees, for my companies."

I believe that anyone running for public service, and the most powerful office in the world, simply cannot make a statement like that. Public servants should not look for the loopholes in the laws, but be held to a higher standard that follows the spirit of the law. Tax codes are created to ensure that all of us contribute to the greater good. Someone running for the presidency of the United States should aim higher than just doing well for his family and private interests.

A U.S. president has obligations toward the people of his nation, before himself or his family. Presidential responsibilities (moral or otherwise) should extend to U.S. allies, such as  Mexico, and perhaps even to all the inhabitants of the world. Someone who lies, cheats on his taxes, and does not care for others is simply not fit to become the next President of the United States.

Beatriz Magaloni, director of CDDRL's Program on Poverty and Governance (PovGov), and Zaira Razu, a research associate and project manager at PovGov, recently released a piece in Current History on Mexico's ongoing drug war and the rise of violence. Although democratic structures have helped improve certain freedoms throughout the country in the past decade, institutionalized injustice is slowly jeopardizing stability and security for much of the Mexican population.

Click here to read their piece.

This month Stanford researchers are in one of the largest slums – or favelas – in Latin America to launch the first-of-its kind comprehensive study on the use of body-worn cameras by the military police in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Over 350 police officers will start wearing cameras clipped to their uniforms during their patrols to record interactions with residents. The yearlong Stanford study aims to determine the effects of this technology on reducing lethal violence, as well as other forms of violent interactions with community members.
 
Led by Beatriz Magaloni, associate professor of political science and director of the Program on Poverty and Governance (PovGov) at Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, this study comes at a significant moment when police brutality is tearing apart the social fabric in communities worldwide, and body-worn cameras are being tested as a way to curb the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials. A study of this nature has never been conducted in a location characterized by extraordinary levels of violence, and the strong presence of armed criminal groups.
 
“Police-body worn cameras have been adopted in many police departments in the U.S.,” said Magaloni who is also a senior fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. “However, it is not clear how this technology will work in Rio de Janeiro’s context. Even when police officers are instructed to turn on their cameras, we do not know if they will obey. “
 
To evaluate the use of body-worn cameras, Magaloni established a partnership with TASER International, who is supplying 75 cameras for the study, along with the Military State Police of Rio de Janeiro to introduce this technology in the Rocinha favela. Cameras will be assigned randomly in this study to vary the frequency (number of cameras) and the intensity (hours) of the use of the cameras across territorial police units in the favela.
 
Magaloni described the two protocols for the use of body-worn cameras that will be explored in the study.
 
“The first will examine police compliance with the cameras, as some officers will be asked to turn on their cameras during their entire shifts, which is significantly harder to disregard, while others will only turn on their cameras when interacting with citizens, the prevalent practice in the U.S.,” she said.
 
“Second, the research hopes to contribute towards the development of protocols for the processing of the images, which is a huge challenge for police departments everywhere,” said Magaloni. “It will also help to determine which videos should be audited and what strategies commanders and supervisors can follow to deliver feedback to police officers.”
 
Rio de Janeiro’s police are considered one of the deadliest in the world. And while this violence has been decreasing since 2008, distrust between the police and favela residents is at a high after the recent police killing of five unarmed young men in Costa Barros, in Rio’s North zone. At the same time, police are being killed at significantly higher rates, which has only further strained their interactions with residents.
 
Over the past two years, Professor Magaloni and her team at PovGov have been working in partnership with the Military State Police of Rio de Janeiro and the Secretary of Security of Rio de Janeiro to examine the use of lethal force by police officers and the impact of public security efforts in Rio’s favelas. This ongoing relationship has allowed Professor Magaloni unprecedented access to criminal data and police personnel. Detailed analysis of homicide patterns and ammunition usage by police officers, together with the application of surveys and in-depth interviews with police officers and favela residents, have unearthed some of the contextual, individual, and institutional factors that give rise to greater use of deadly force by the police.
 
As the camera study launches this month in Rio de Janeiro, Magaloni and the PovGov team are hopeful that their research will improve theory and science about police behavior, and provide critical feedback to improve measures aimed at reducing police violence in Brazil and beyond.  
 

To learn more about the Program on Poverty and Governance, please visit: povgov.stanford.edu.
 

CONTACT:
Professor Beatriz Magaloni
Stanford Department of Political Science and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
magaloni@stanford.edu
(650) 724-5949