MEXICO CITY — President Felipe Calderón on Tuesday summoned legislators to participate later this week in his continuing discussions with all of Mexico’s political establishment about how to win the war against the drug cartels.

With the pace of killings rising, officials have backed off their effort to persuade Mexicans that the mounting death toll was proof that the government was succeeding in disrupting the cartels. Instead, Mr. Calderón set up the high-level forums in an effort to show that the Mexican government was willing to engage its critics and listen to suggestions.

“What I ask, simply, is for clear ideas and precise proposals on how to improve this strategy,” he said during one of the meetings last week, when he heard from governors, judges and mayors. The legislators are invited for Thursday.

But for the people on the front lines, particularly in northern Mexico, the discussions of money-laundering, police reform and efforts to steer young people away from gangs are distant.