Last Friday (June 21, 2008) a discotheque in the north-east of Mexico City was the scene of a horrific incident which took the lives of nine teenagers and three police officers. The discotheque, Divine News, was part of a police crackdown on underaged drinking and the sale of illegal drugs.

The police had knowingly picked a day when the discoteque would be packed with revellers celebrating the end of the school year. However, as with so many "operativos" (as the police action is known in Spanish), the motive behind the crackdown is part of a massive extortion racket that runs through the corridors of the local councils, the Mexico City government and the city police forces.

A combination of factors - a chronic ineptitude on behalf of the city police and a flagrant disregard for public safety by the discotheque's owners - precipitated last Friday's tragic occurrence.

When the owners got wind that the police were on their way they made an announcement to the 500 plus teenagers to leave the premises. At first they were reluctant to go but after being promised free entry to the club the following week they began to make their way out. However, it was too late for the majority of them as the police had cordoned off the area around the club and barricaded the entrance.

Unable to leave and with the club already packed beyond its legal limit, the teenagers began to panic. The police then made threats that anyone who attempted to leave would be immediately arrested. This exacerbated an already fraught situation and in the ensuing panic a stampede occurred which saw nine teenagers and three police officers die from asphyxiation. Mexican news agencies also reported that the emergency exit had been blocked by crates of beer.

Could this have been avoided? Certainly. The police and the owners of Divine News were embroiled in an all too familiar game of cat and mouse that plagues establishments of this nature. There is no doubt in my mind the local authorities knew all along how Divine News was operating. Politicians in Mexico come and go but local council bureaucrats have job security for life and they're the ones who make sure - if the price is right - your bar or club stays open irrespective if you meet safety requirements.

An operativo will occur in two scenarios: the bureaucrat wants more money or a genuine complaint has been made and the authorities have to act under the letter of the law which results in an even bigger bribe being paid to said bureaucrat. Add to this the sheer indiscipline and scare-mongering tactics employed by the local police forces and you have a recipe for disaster driven ultimately by greed.

It will be interesting to see how Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard responds to this incident. A news presenter of a popular morning tv show pointed out, "it's all very well having an ice skating rink in the Zocalo, or making government workers ride a bicycle to work once a month but if the mayor really wants to show his true grit then rooting out the endemic corruption that plagues the capital's local councils will be key."

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