What is a "swath"? What is "just cartels?" Are cartels providing road and highway construction? Are cartels operating the national healthcare service? Do they do water permitting? Collect taxes? Regulate commerce? Look at my passport when I enter the country? No - none of the above. Your claim is false. They influence parts of the government, not substitute it. You are describing a place more like soithern Somalia.
>Are cartels operating the national healthcare service? Do they do water permitting? Collect taxes? Regulate commerce? Look at my passport when I enter the country?
Considering that they have politicians and legislators in their pocket, yes.
Please read the above comment thread so you don't end up taking things out of context. The original comment claimed there is no functioning government. Your new claim seems to be that even though the government is functioning, it is not because of bribery and corruption.
