Rumors, Cartels, and the Throne of Authority

There are circulating reports about the alleged death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes “El Mencho” and chaos in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta. Whether his death is true or not, one fact is clear: a single leader’s death changes very little in the broader system.

These so called "leaders" are replaceable, the markets will persist, and violence will oftentimes continue because the system itself creates high demand, legal prohibition, geography of production and transit, and corruption, which in turn creates incentives that reward armed coordination. This again creates artificial scarcity and it drives black market prices up, the profit drives these criminal organizations, and these criminal organizations and enterprises drives enforcement. Geography and location matter because they shape supply chains and transit routes, but the throne itself is bigger than any one person.

On top of that, rumors, social media posts, and media narratives spread faster than verifiable facts. False flag events, staged reports, and political exploitation are possibilities and yes it does occur with frequency but the more relevant underlying question is, why does the throne exist at all?

The answer is not charisma, loyalty, or personal morality. It’s systemic. Prohibition creates scarcity. Scarcity creates profit. Profit attracts organization. Organization requires enforcement. That enforcement generates power, which persists regardless of belief in legitimacy. In short, the system incentivizes the throne the position itself , more than the individual who sits on it. Remove Mencho? Someone else will occupy the seat. Kill a king? Another rises. The throne doesn’t disappear because the conditions that created it remain.

Now consider this: belief in authority is a social construct. Governments, kings, or cartel leaders only hold sway because people comply, not because they possess inherent moral or mystical right. It’s like Santa Claus. The figure itself doesn’t have power independent of belief. You don’t try to “remove Santa” because the figure itself is imaginary; you simply stop believing in it. Authority functions the same way. Its strength is in social recognition, compliance, and obedience from the masses.

If belief in authority were to collapse, what would change? Evil wouldn’t vanish. People would still exploit, deceive, and attempt to dominate others. But the distribution of responsibility would shift. People would have the power to say no. No to picking up a weapon for someone else’s war, no to obeying arbitrary mandates, no to outsourcing moral accountability. Let the so-called kings fight their own battles. The throne becomes hollow if enough individuals exercise moral agency.

Such a shift wouldn’t happen overnight. Most people today are conditioned by decades, even centuries, of obedience, schooling, economic dependence, and social hierarchy. But over generations, the pattern could reset. This already happens on small scale and in larger scales throughout history. People would internalize responsibility, value autonomy, and prefer competence-based collaboration over blind compliance. This is not naïve idealism but a cultural evolution. The first generation feels the burden. The second generation normalizes it. Eventually, moral sovereignty becomes the default.

Meanwhile, practical sovereignty can be cultivated now. Small, high-agency communities can thrive without the belief in mystical authority. Examples:

Self-sufficiency : Grow your own food, manage water, maintain energy, preserve knowledge. Reduce dependence on external systems.

Competence-based roles : Assign responsibilities for defense, farming, trade, repair, and knowledge preservation according to skill, not titles.

Voluntary coordination : Trade, mutual aid, and shared decision-making replace obedience.

Defense capability : Protect your community and resources without creating permanent hierarchies. Trained, responsible and highly competent individuals handle security.

Knowledge and culture : Teach skills, critical thinking, and ethics so responsibility is internalized and the next generation grows up with sovereignty as a norm.

This approach isn’t about creating a fantasy anarchism or collapse of societies for the sake of drama. It’s about living with awareness and responsibility, understanding that power is functional and not some mystical hierarchy , and that leadership is temporary. The throne is real only because society grants it legitimacy with faith and compliance. Refuse to grant that, act responsibly, and the system begins to shift.

Understanding this gives us all more leverage than fear ever will. Chaos, rumors, and spectacle will always exist, but personal and communal agency is where true power lies. You don’t wait for kings to fall or authorities to vanish. You build resilience, competence, and autonomy now, for yourself, your loved ones, and your community.