Cash for Juárez

The federal government has set aside more than $50 million for social programs for Juárez. As with the price tag for better police, I tend to think that the cost is not the best way to measure seriousness and progress in improving Juárez. Even so, $50 million doesn't seem like a whole lot of money, given that Mexico is a middle-income nation, Juárez is the most dangerous city on the planet, and the politicians are really serious about it this time. The article doesn't go into a whole lot of detail, but it says that a little more than $20 million will be directed toward building five schools, and implies that the remainder will go toward health programs and building hospitals. And given that Juárez is on the American border, it would make both political and practical sense for some of the Mérida money to go toward pacifying El Paso's next-door neighbor.