Drug Traffickers as Social Bandits

Abstract

This article discusses ethnographic/qualitative research concerning the ways in which drug trafficking and drug traffickers are portrayed and interpreted in northern Mexico and the border region via a recently popularized form of the traditional narrative music genre called the corrido. The research links the drug trafficker persona to historical issues/values associated with the Sierra and border areas, including long-standing patterns of smuggling, a tradition of independence, and conflicting relationships with both Mexican and U.S. authorities. The construction of traffickers as social bandits or heroes varies by social group and between rural and urban areas. In any case, the “celebretization” of drug traffickers described in this article highlights the ambivalent relationship between drug trafficking, historical conflicts between the United States and Mexico, and socioeconomic and cultural factors. Cross-cultural comparisons are also made regarding drug trafficker portrayals in the United States.