Michoacan is on the Pacific coast and ground zero for violence in Mexico today.

The latest episode is that Mexicans (known as the militias) are taking up arms against the cartels, as reported recently by Dudley Althaus:

"Mocking the state governor's demands that they stop, the militias on Sunday advanced on the town of Nueva Italia, a Templar stronghold near Apatzingan.

Federal security forces on Saturday had occupied Apatzingan to prevent the militiamen from trying to take control of that city of 125,000 people.  

Furthermore:

"Hundreds more militiamen - ranchers, shopkeepers, laborers and lawyers - operate unimpeded across Michoacan."

The problem is that many people in Michoacan saw what happened in the north where cartels overran the police and took over towns on the US-Mexico border.  In other words, there weren't enough federal soldiers to protect people in rural areas or small towns because they were all deployed to protect major cities like Juarez and Monterrey. 

Again, the cartels filled the vacuum and border towns were lawless and citizens terrorized.

It looks like the people of Michoacan do not want to see that happen in their state.  Therefore, they've decided to take up arms and fight the cartels directly.

President Pena-Nieto is caught in the middle here.  On one hand, he wants to intervene and put troops at the port and cities.  On the other hand, he has an exhausted army and too many small towns in Michoacan unwilling to be overrun by ruthelss cartels.

Mexico does not have a 2nd amendment like we do.  Nevertheless, the people of Michoacan have decided to organized their "militia" and defend their homes and family.

Cheers for the militias of Michoacan!

P. S. You can hear my chat with Fausta Wertz about Latin America & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.