Dru McInerney
Research Proposal
4/3/14
Looking at the
monetary value of laundered money, specifically narco-dollars, can this form of
monetary value have a positive effect on community?
When you talk
about laundered drug money, you often think of the violence of the drug trade.
The violence associated drug cartels from South and Central America. The money
made and laundered from drug trade (narco-dollars) is considered blood money.
However, if looked at more closely could these narco-dollars have a positive
effect when they are being pumped back into local economies?
Lets take Miami,
Florida in the 1980’s for example. Miami pre 1980’s was a small quaint city
that was known for vacationing. Enter into the early 1990’s Miami is a booming
economic city. This can be accredited to large amount of narco-dollars coming
from cocaine trade with Colombia. When these cocaine dealers from Colombia
began to traffic cocaine through Colombia they started to make small fortunes
in narco-dollars. Narco-dollars are a monetary spending that is technically
legal in the United States. There is no proof that they are an illegal entity.
So as most drug dealer tend to do, they spend their narco-dollars as fast as
they made them. This doesn’t just stimulate the luxury car and jewelry
businesses but a large majority of this money is going to real estate. As
cocaine became the largest business in Miami behind tourism in the 1980’s
(economist 1982) the skyline began to rise in the city. With the real estate
boom you began to see more people moving to the city. More jobs were being made
behind the sponsorship of narco-dollars.
Miami is an
example of instance where narco-dollars can be considered as being able to
build and develop a community. You also see a large development of Latino
community in Miami as these narco-dollars are being spent. Many people are
coming from Southern and Central America to be part of the booming economy.
This begins to turn Miami into the hub of Latino culture in North America. This
can be compared to Seaford and the use of religion to bring the Ancient Greek
community together. The sponsorship of narco-dollars was able to develop a hub
for the Latino community to gather and begin to live the American dream.
Works Cited
1. Gootenburg,
Paul. "The "Pre-Colombian" Era of Drug Trafficking in the
Americas." Academy of American Franciscan History. 64.2 (2007):
133-176. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
·
This source talks about what cocaine trafficking
was like before Colombia became the main country. It talks about what events
lead to Colombia becoming a major player in cocaine trade. It also talks about
what America was like before Colombia made cocaine more mainstream. This
article allows me to look into what economies were like before cocaine traffic
became such a large entity.
2. Grosse,
Robert. "The Economic Impact of Andean Cocaine Traffic on
Florida." Journal of Inter-American Studies and World Affairs. 32.4
(1990): 137-159. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
·
This source was designed to teach the reader
about the relationship of narco-traffic from Colombia to Florida. This article
has five main points it talks about. All five points are the based on the
economic relationships between Colombian cocaine traffic and Florida. It talks
about the relationship with crime, the medical and rehabilitative costs,
employee production, Financial flows from laundered money and what Florida
would be like if there was no cocaine laundering. These are topics pertaining
to aspects of Florida’s economy based on cocaine trade. The topic about the money laundering is
key information for my argument. It helps me illustrate how much money was
available to help build Florida’s economy.
3. Nijman,
Jan. "Globalization to a Latin Beat: The Miami Growth
Machine." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social
Science. 551 (1997): 164-177. Print.
·
This journal article discusses the economic
impact of Latin Americans on the Miami area. It specifically talks about the
perceptions of drug trade within this population. It also chronicles the growth
of the Latin American population from the late 1970’s until the mid 1990’s.
This helps me identify the economics of before and after the drug trade amongst
Latinos. It also helps me understand the economic impact of Latinos coming into
Miami and influencing it.
4. "Foundations For the Future." Economist [London]
16 10 1982, 7259 n. pag. Print.
·
This article discusses the economic recession
taking place in the United States in the early 1980’s. It specifically
highlights Miami, FL and how it has managed to have its economy grow in light
of the recession. It talks about how the banks having been growing and so has
the real estate market, even in lieu of an economic downfall. This helps
support my article that drug trade-affected Miami’s economy in a positive way.
5.
"Miami City, Florida." American Fact Finder. United States
Census, n.d. Web. 25 Mar 2014.
·
This is comes from an economic database called American Fact Finder. This Database
allows me to compare business, real estate and crime statistics from the 1980’s
all the way to 2010. It helps me produce all around statistics comparing the
height of the drug trade to more recent Miami.
6.
Salama, Pierre. "The Economy
of Narco-Dollars: From Production to Recycling of Earnings."nternational
Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society . 14.1 (2000): 183-203. Print.
·
This source describes the process into which
narco-dollars are made and then put back into the economy. It discusses the
trends of drug dealers and how they spend their money. This will help my
argument with direct evidence from Colombian drug cartels.
7.
Guizado, Alvaro. "Perspectives
on Narcotics Trafficking in Colombia." International Journal of
Politics, Culture, and Society. 14.1 (200): n. page. Print.
·
This article talks about the effect of the drug
business on cities in Colombia. It also discusses the migration to the United
States. This is important to my argument because it will help me depict the
migration and building of the Latino community in Miami, FL and in other United
States cities. Also provides perspective with opposing points of view. Dicussing
the negative effects of Latin culture.
8.
Bartilow, Horace. "Free
Traders and Drug Smugglers: The Effects of Trade Openness on States' Ability to
Combat Drug Trafficking." Latin American Politics and Society. 51.2
(2009): 117-145. Print.
·
This Journal discusses a legislative rule that
is controversial because some believe it makes it easy for drug smugglers.
Others argue that it makes it more difficult for smugglers. Provides
information on how drug smuggling is a global business. Provides estimation on
how much money is made in laundered money.
9.
Gilbert, Alan. "The Latin American
City ." Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
24.47 (1999): n. page. Print.
·
This journal talks about the “Latin City” in
America. Which talks about mostly Miami and Los Angeles. It discusses the Latin
community with percentages and figures. This will be important when I cross
reference this with the migration to
the United States due to narco-dollars.
10.
Smith, Barbara. "We're Here to
Sta'y: Economic Restructuring, Latino Migration and Place-Making in the US
South." Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers .
33.1 (2006): n. page. Print.
·
This article talks about the migration of
Latino’s to southern states in America. It discusses the obstacles and hardships
they face. But also discusses how this has built there community. Provides persepective
on the Latin American community in states and cities with high volumes of drug
trafficking.
11.
O'brian, Patrick. "Tracking
Narco-Dollars: The Evolution of a Potent Weapon in the Drug War." University
of Miami Inter-American Law Review. 21.3 (1990): n. page. Print.
·
This article discuses narco-dollars and the
process they go through to become legitimate money. It also discusses the
spending of this monetary value. Where drug dealers are most likely to spend
this money. This will help my argument because I will have more background
knowledge on narco-dollars and where they get spent.
