From Family to Franchise? Friendship, Individualism, and the Marketization of the Colombian Youth Gang

Abstract

Abstract The surge of transnational illicit economies has led to important transformations in gang structures and cultures. From locally-bound, solidarity-driven institutions, gangs have morphed into globally-connected, market-driven ones. But how has this change affected the way young gang members relate to each other? This paper explores this question in the particular case of Medellín (Colombia), based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork with adolescents working at the low ends of narco-gangs. It traces the evolution of gangs from the 1970s galladas – peer groups of kids who sought to support each other – to today’s pandillas – ruthless and profit-driven groups that operate as the local franchises of larger criminal organizations. The paper argues that the co-optation of youth gangs by transnational organized crime has drastically reduced the sense of protection, inclusion, and belonging that gangs provide to their youngest members. It has also hampered the role of gangs as institutions of cultural resistance and critique.