In 2012 Mexico will elect a new president who will need to decide whether to continue the crackdown on the country's drug cartels.

Current president Felipe Calderon is under pressure with no end in sight to the rising violence.

He has complained of being "misunderstood" over his battle with cartels and says he has the majority of the people's support although "perhaps silently".

But is there a way out and after nearly five years of the policy what, if any, are the alternatives for Calderon's successor?

Al Jazeera's Lucia Newman reports.