Rights trap or amplifier? Crime and attitudes toward local human rights organizations in Mexico

Abstract

ABSTRACTJust as Mexico—particularly civil society—has joined the rights revolution, a crime wave is convulsing the country. Local human rights organizations (LHROs) are crucial intercessors on behalf of citizens. Public trust is vital for LHROs to be effective, especially in their tasks of promoting police and justice reform. How does crime affect trust in LHROs? Does it reduce trust, leading to a “rights trap” in which lack of citizen support wrests legitimacy from LHROs and governments retrench on rights? Or could it increase LHRO trust, leading to a “rights amplifier” in which greater LHRO efficacy fosters rights observance? Using data from the 2014 The Americas and the World/Human Rights Perceptions Polls, I find that crime's effects vary according to the security and institutional context. Victimization damages LHRO trust in high-crime communities but enhances it in low-crime ones. Crime can trigger both rights traps and amplifiers.