WORLDTRENDS2 THE NEWYORK TIMESINTERNATIONALWEEKLY MONDAY,FEBRUARY17,2020
THENEWYORKTIMESINTERNATIONAL WEEKLYANDINTERNATIONALREPORTAPPEARINTHEFOLLOWINGPUBLICATIONS:CLARÍN,ARGENTINAnDERSTANDARD,AUSTRIAnLARAZÓN,BOLIVIAnOESTADÃO,
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INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY
NANCYLEEExecutiveeditor
TOMBRADYEditor
ALAN MATTINGLYManagingeditor
TheNew York Times International Weekly
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VIENNA—AlmaZadic is nervous
about standing too closetothe row
of largewindows in heroffice. Since
becomingAustria’s justiceminister,
thethreats have beenrelentless. “A
bullet is reservedfor you,”readare-
cent one.Hours after beingsworn in
last month, Ms.Zadic wasgiven po-
lice protection.
Adaughter ofBosnianrefugees
andmember oftheprogressive
GreenParty,Ms. Zadic, 35,wentinto
politics three yearsago with aclear
goal: to fightanascendantfar right.
Now,she is chargedwithdefend-
ingpolicie sthatwere designedto
keep peoplelikeher parentsout of
thecountry.
That is also themoral dilemma
facingAustria’sliberalpro-refugee
Greensinjoiningforceswiththecon-
servativesofChancellorSebastian
Kurz.The Greens have replacedthe
far-rightFreedom Partyasjunior
partnersingovernmentand getto
putclimate change onthepolitic al
agenda.But they arealsobecoming
complicitinMr. Kurz’s hard-right
immigration policy.
Noonepersonifi es this Faustian
pactmorestarklythan Ms.Zadic,
Austria’sfirst ministerwithami-
grantbackground. “Itmakes adif-
ference whoisingovernment,”Ms.
Zadicsaid.
Shewasateenagerin2000,when
theFreedom Partyfirst joined acon-
servative governmentunder thean-
ti-Semitic leader Jörg Haider. Other
Europeancapitalsfroze diplomatic
ties with Vienna,whileher parents,
both engineers,fearedtheymight be
deported.
In her currentcapacity, herman-
date andthatofher partyisnot only
to promoteagreenagenda,but to
resistthecurrents of populism and
safeguardfundamentalrights.
In thegoverningprogramacar-
bontax on airplane ticketsand sub-
sidies forpublic transportsit sideby
sidewith aheadscarf banfor girls
up to 14,deportati on centersand a
controversialnewformof “securi-
ty detention” forasylumseekers,a
measureMs. Zadiccalled“authori-
tarian”backsliding.
Mr.Kurzwon 37 percentofthe
votes, theGreensonly14. Between
theballots cast forMr. Kurz’sparty
andthe Freedom Party, Austriastill
hasaconservative majority.“We will
do ourbest,”Ms. Zadicsaid.
Ms.Zadic wasborninTuzla, Bos-
nia-Herzegovina, anindustrialtown
that wasthe site ofanotorious1995
massacreduring theBalkanwars.
Shewas10 when her family fled to Vi-enna.She went on togetaFulbright
scholarship forapostgraduatelaw
degree at ColumbiaUniversityin
NewYork and, backin Vienna,a
Ph.D.inhumanrights law.
Some of her resilienceshe owesto
NewYork,where shesaysshe made
peacewithher ownidentity. “For
yearsIhad struggledwiththisques-
tion:‘AmIBosnian or Austrian?’ ”
shesaid.“In NewYork Ilearned that
Ican be Austrianand Bosnianand
Europeanat thesametime.”
Back in Austria, herbackground
faded. Butassoonasshe decidedto
go into politi cs, inthesummerof2017,
it resurfaced.One nationalnewspa-
perheadlinefromthatyearisstill
seared into hermemory.
“Theycalledmea‘refugee child,’”
shesaid. “I hadbeen inAustriafor 25
years, Iwas alawyer, Ihad aPh.D.,
Iwas neither arefugee norachild
andIrealized:Thisiswhatdefines
me still.”
AfterMs. Zadicjoinedthe govern-
ment,her fellowGreenscelebrated
herasthe country’s“firstMuslim
minister.” Theconstantassumption
that sheisMuslimexasperates Ms.
Zadic, whosaysshe is anatheist.
Ms.Zadic neverthelessknows she
is apowerfulrolemodel forthe coun-
try’sgirls andboysofmigrant back-
ground,manyofthemMuslim.
“WhenIwas in schoolitwas un-
thinkable that someonelikemecould
becomeaminister,” shesaid.“Idon’t
want to letthemdown. Idon’t want to
letAustriadown.”From MigranttoTakingOnFar Right
ChristopherF. Schuetze contributed
reporting.
DENISLOVROVIC/AGENCEFRANCE-PRESSE—GETTYIMAGES
AlmaZadic, Austria’snewjusticeminister,isaBosnianmigrant.INTELLIGENCE/IOANGRILLODismantling Mexico’s NarcoState
Mexicocity
Whilethe sex-crimestrialofHar-
veyWeinsteintakes center stage,
anothercaseis windingthrough
aNew York courtwithshattering
implications. Federalprosecutors
in Brooklyn arepursuingdrug
traffickingcharges against Genaro
García Luna,akey architect of the
drug warofformerPresidentFelipe
Calderón. After arecenthearing,
Mr.GarcíaLuna’slawyerreiterated
that he pleads not guilty, saying he
“adamantly d eniesthat he accepted
anybribes” (fromtraffickers)and
will go to trial.
Thecaseisbeing heardbythe
samecourtthatconvictedJoaquin
Guzman(El Chapo) last year.But
in some waysthis case is even more
important. Whilethe storiesof
drug lords fuel endless movies,TV
seriesand novels, theirconvictions
have failed to ease theblood bath in
Mexico.There were arecord34,500
murdersherelastyear, whilethe co-
cainekingGuzmanwas sentenced
in NewYorktolifeinprison.
Some activistsand academics
have long called forgoingafterthe
gangsters’politi calenablers,who
oftenmove to theUnitedStateswith
theirmillions of dollars. Andtogive
credit to Americanprosecut ors,
they arenow trying to dothis.The
charges against Mr.GarcíaLuna,
who haslived in amansion in Miami
since2012, follow theconviction of
thebrother oftheHonduranpresi-
dentoncocaine traffickingcharges
in Octoberandvarious cases
against Venezuelanofficials. Such
effortsare likelymoreeffective in
reducing thepowerofcartelsthan
classifyingthemasterrorists, as
PresidentDonaldJ.Trump consid-
ereddoing.
Ifirst metMr.GarcíaLunain2 005
when he headed Mexico’s Federal
InvestigativeAgency. When he
becamepublic security secretary
in 2006,heoversawacrackdownon
traffickersthatspreadacross the
country.
Underhisleadership, indicted
mobstersgaveconfessionvideos,describing howtheymassacred and
mutilatedtheir victims, whichwere
playedonthe eveningnews. They
were meanttoshowhow thebad
guys were beingcaptured, butthe
graphicdescriptionsofmassmur-
der only seemedtoterrifypeople
more.Atthe same time,homicid es
anddisappearancesskyrocketed,
as didclaimsofabusesbythe secu-
rity forces.
Theaccusation that akey official
behindthatcampaignwas working
with traffickersmakes thischapter
in Mexicanhistory look evendark-
er.Itwas awarbegunwithtainted
motivesthat thecountry still burns
from.
Thecaseagainst Mr.GarcíaLuna
helps President Andrés Manuel
LópezObrador,aleftistwho claims
to be transforming Mexico and
endingthe povertyand violence.
It underlines howthe cartel wars
date to previousgovernments and
mutes thecriti cism from former
presidents,includingMr. Calderón,
forbeing ineffectiveonthe economy
andweakagainst crime. Hopefully,
it coulddetertop officialsfromtak-
ingbribesyet again.
ButMr. LópezObrador is failingto capitalize on it andeffectively
lead thenation to peace. Hisgov-
ernmenthas promised to break
with thefaileddrugwarandend
thecorruption, most emblematic in
police officialsworking with narcos.
Yet, thesegoodintentionshavenot
materialized into acoherent securi-
ty strategy, andheis notsupporting
theefforts of Mexico’s civilsociety
to climbout of theholeofviolence.
Last month,Imarchedwithfam-
ilymembersofthe murdered, going
from thecityofCuernavacatothe
presidentialpalacetocallfor “truth,
justiceand peace.”Among them
were membersofthe LeBaron fam-
ily, whosufferedabrutalmassacre
in November;the poet Javier Sicilia,
whose sonwas slainin2011; and
thewidow of theprolificSinaloan
journalistJavierValdez, shot dead
in 2017.
Mr.LópezObrador couldem-
brace theircalls andtry to unite
Mexicansociety against theblood-
shed. Instead,hedeclinedtomeet
with them.Worse,inMexicoCity’s
Zócalo —its centralsquare—on
January26, some supportersof
Mr.LópezObradorconfrontedthe
marchers, accusingthemofbeingagainstthe president.
Thosesupporterssaidtheyhad
gatheredtosignapetitiontocharge
former Mexicanpresidents, acall
encouraged by theprosecutionof
Mr.GarcíaLuna.Buttheirmainfo-
cus seemedtoberailing against the
marchers. To seepeoplewho had
lost theirloved ones be abused this
waywas heartbreaking.
Mexicans cannot continue to live
under siege. Andif thesky-highho-
micide ratesare not curbed,aMex-
icanpolit iciancould rise up promis-
inganevenmorehard-line military
crackdown than theone conducted
by Mr.GarcíaLuna.
Breakingthe powerofcrime car-
tels in Mexico canseemanimpos-
sible task.Yet many of thesolutions
areinplain sightonbothsides of the
border.The United States canbuild
on thisnew thrust of goingafter
corruptofficialsand theirmoney
networks,stemthe flow of guns to
gangstersandworktoaddressthe
drug abusethat feedsthe cartels.
Mr.López Obrador’sadministration
canfunnel resources to thepoor
barrios,wherecartelsrecruit,ashe
haspromisedand standwithvic-
timsofviolencetoget justice.IoanGrillo is theauthorof“El
Narco: InsideMexico’s Criminal
Insurgency”and“Gangster
Warlords: DrugDollars,Kill ing
FieldsandtheNewPoliticsof
LatinAmerica.” Sendcommentsto
[email protected].
Tr aditionalMedicines
Used in VirusFight
By SUI-LEEWEE
As it races totreatpatientsin-
fectedwith the newcoronavirus,
Beijingseespotential in acocktail
of antiviraldrugs.Itisalsorec-
ommendingthe Peaceful Palace
Bovine Pill,atraditionalChinese
medicine made with thegallstone
of cat tle, buffalohorn, jasmineand
pearl.
Thereis no knowncurefor the
coronavirusthat hassickened
tens ofthousandsandkilled more
than 1,000in Chi na.The country’s
National Health Commissionsays
doctors shouldtry treatingpa-
tients mainlywithacombination of
Western drugs used to treatH.I.V.
andfight viruses.
Butthe governmentisalsolook-
ingatwaystosupplement the
treatmentwithremedies integral
to itsnationalidentit y—tradition-
al Chinese medicine.Ithas itssup-
porters.
“I thinkitisthecorrectap-
proach,”saidCheng Yung-chi,a
professor of pharmacologyatYale
University School ofMedicine.
“Wehavetogiveitthe benefitof
thedoubt.”
There is no clinicalproofthat the
rootsofvariousplants, licorice,
andthe Peaceful Palace Bovine
Pillcanhelpcombat thedeadlyep-
idemic.Practitionerssay thereg-
imen couldhelpeasesymptoms
such as swelling in thelungs,with
fewersideeffects.Critic ssay such
concoctionsraise concerns about
patient safety.
Theuse oftheseancient Chinese
remediesdovetailswithapushby
Xi Jinping, China’sleader, to har-
nessthemas asourceofnational
pride.Hehas said officialsshould
placeasmuchimportanceontra-
diti onalChinesemedicinesasthey
do onWesternmedicines.
Some hospitals areusing acom-
binationofWesternand Chinese
medicines. Inrecent weeks, Bei-
jing’s health departmentreported
that twopatientswho were dis-
chargedhad beentreatedwith
traditional Chinesemedicines
together with otherunspecified
drugs.Andin Guangzhou,offi-
cialssaid50patientsreported
having no morefever,and half of
them said theircoughs went away
after usingtraditional Chinesemedicinesandother drugs.
Doctorsareconducting clinical
trials to testtheefficacyoftradi-
tionalChinesemedicineinWuhan,
theepicenterofthe coronavirus
outbreak, said Dr.Cheng, theYale
expert,who is chairmanof the
Consortiumfor theGlobalization
of ChineseMedicine,agroupof ac-
ademicsinthe field.
JiangXianfeng,atraditional
Chinesemedicine practiti onerat
United Family Health,atop hospi-
talinBeijing,saidthese medicines
aresafe, effectiveand easy toget.
“Westernmedicinedoesnot
have better answerstothisvirus,”
Mr.Jiang said.“TheChinese peo-
plehaveexperienced thesesort of
plaguesmany times in ourthou-
sandsofyears of history. If tradi-tional Chinesemedicine wasnot
effective, theChinesepeoplewould
alreadybe destroyed.”
Doctorsin Hong Kong arenot
convincedthat traditionalChinese
medicinescanhelp. “I amnottry-
ingtodevaluetheir treatment,but
this i snot somethingwepractice,”
said ArisinaMa, thepresidentofa
Hong Kong doctorsgroup.
In many Chinesecities, some
stoodin line for hours tobuy
“Shuanghuanglian” —aherbal
concoction of flowerssuch ashoney-
suckle andforsythia —after agov-
ernmentstudy said itwaseffective
inpreventingthe coronavirus.
QinXi, amanager ofapharma-
cy in Beijing, said salesofsome of
histraditi onal Chinesemedicines
have been offthe charts.
“Asfor whetheritworks,who
knows?”hesaid.BILLYH.C.KWOKFORTHENEWYORKTIMES
HongKongdoctorsarenot
convinced traditional remedies
fightthecoronavirus. Chinese
medicinessold there.