Crime In Mexico Research Articles

The problem of criminal charisma: State authority and the politics of narcocultura in Mexico's drug war

AbstractThis article examines Mexico's “war on drug trafficking” through its affective and ideological dimensions. By ethnographically exploring two sites of official representations of organized crime in Mexico City—the Secretariat of Defense's Drug Museum and the Institute to Give Back What Was Stolen from the People—I analyze the strategies through which the Mexican state acknowledges and addresses criminality's charisma as a key challenge to its authority. In these official representations, the drug world becomes visible in partial and selective ways, such as through drug traffickers’ confiscated possessions, which project ideas of extravagant capitalist consumption and transgressive social mobility. The state's inevitable failure to contain or redirect this criminal charisma is a symptom of a deeper problem. Such charisma is a key element constituting organized crime as a political actor that menaces state power. It does so not only through violence, but also by means of its capacity to align and organize publics ideologically by doubling and mimicking the state's forms of meaning‐making and valuation.

Mujeres y narcotráfico: caso de México

The contribution that the reader has in his hands revolves around the role of women in drug trafficking through research focused on the Mexican case, which aims to show the variations in the participation of women in drug trafficking, both in terms of quantity and activities over the last 20 years or so. It also attempts to detail some of the trajectories of women who have participated in crimes related to drug trafficking in Mexico.

Organized crime in Mexico City's Historic Center

En el Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México, debido a la aplicación de programas de renovación, converge paradójicamente el área con mayor cantidad de delitos de la ciudad con la zona más vigilada y con mayores recursos en seguridad. Este artículo indaga sobre los factores asociados a la percepción de la presencia del crimen organizado en la población habitante de esta zona mediante el uso de una encuesta y el ajuste de un modelo de regresión. Los resultados indican que la percepción está dada por la presencia de mercados ilegales, la intensidad de la violencia, la corrupción de oficiales públicos y la presencia de grupos con capacidad de operación, así como por los altos niveles de pobreza. Los resultados se discuten a la luz de la evidencia acumulada.

Violent Crime and the Long Shadow of Immigration Enforcement

This research highlights a neglected paradox of migration policies: whereas narratives on migrants as a security threat in their countries of destination find little support in empirical studies, forcing migrants to return may increase violence and crime back home. Using migrants’ exposure to deportation threats at destination as an exogenous source of identification, this paper traces the long shadow of immigration enforcement on violent crime in Mexico, recipient of more than 3.5 million deportees from the US over the period 2000–2015. Enforced return is associated with more homicides and a stronger presence of cartels in migrants’ municipalities of origin, as well as a higher sense of insecurity among the population and a higher probability of being assaulted. Identifying these local effects of enforced return are a first step towards unpacking the various direct and indirect channels through which immigration enforcement generates unintended negative outcomes in migrants’ communities of origin.

Understanding the Link between Temperature and Crime

Understanding the Link between Temperature and Crime

Juvenile Delinquency in the Context of Organized Crime in Mexico: A Systematic Review.

In 2007, Mexico implemented a strategy to combat drug trafficking through military intervention, after which a significant increase in homicides, mainly among young men, was observed and linked to structural problems as well as organized crime, especially the recruitment of youth, with adolescents being particularly vulnerable. Through a systematic review of the literature from 2013 to 2022, we have compiled the reported factors influencing the recruitment of adolescents by organized crime in Mexico and conducted a metasynthesis of the data according to the multiple levels that affect adolescents: individual, family, community, cultural, and social. This research has shown that many of the factors reported are interrelated and need to be studied holistically. In addition, many of the factors are common to other forms of juvenile delinquency, but the main difference is the presence of organized crime itself in the community and culture.

Shifts in property crime patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico

Abstract Objectives To estimate the dynamic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on property crime in Mexico. We do so for a longer time horizon than the existing literature and for two types of property crime: on-line and on-site. Methods A retrospective ecological analysis during the COVID-19 pandemic using an event study methodology. This paper uses administrative data from Mexico’s National Public Security System from January 2017 to December 2022. Our data is structured as a monthly series covering all 2457 Mexican municipalities. Results We find heterogeneity in the pandemic’s impact by type of property crime and a dynamic, permanent effect for both types of property crime. Namely, our results point to a drop and quick recovery of fraud—property crime mostly committed on-line—, which in the medium run surpasses pre-pandemic levels by 44%. Further, our results point to a significant drop in robbery, theft, domestic burglary, and motor vehicle theft—all property crimes committed on-site—, with a slight recovery after the end of the national lockdown, even though rates for these crimes never reached pre-pandemic levels. Conclusions The 2020 pandemic caused a permanent shift in property crime from on-site to on-line spaces. Potential mechanisms point to disruptions in mobility in retail and recreational areas, residential zones, and workplaces as important mediating factors.

The influence of femicide on criminal behavior: An empirical approach using economic complexity for crime prevention in Mexico

Following the economic complexity methodology introduced by Hausmann et al. (2013), this study establishes an order of crime evolution in Mexico. This ordering is based on the complexity of crimes, as determined by the capabilities required to commit them. According to the study, the least complex crimes in Mexico include robbery in collective public transport, robbery in individual transport, counterfeiting, and auto parts theft. On the other hand, the crimes characterized by the highest complexity involve organized crime, intentional and unintentional homicide, and the trafficking of minors. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that femicide and rape exhibit the most significant centrality or influence within the criminal network. According to the model, crimes associated with violence against women are those that most increase the probability of committing another crime. Therefore, targeted prevention efforts aimed at reducing femicide and rape may substantially impact overall levels of criminality in Mexico. This study also highlights the importance of addressing violence against women in designing crime prevention policies in Mexico. Moreover, the methodology adopted in this study can be reinterpreted as a spectral clustering algorithm and thus also contributes to the literature on machine learning applications in public policy design.

The Effect of U.S. Unemployment Shocks on Crime in Mexico

The Effect of U.S. Unemployment Shocks on Crime in Mexico

Self-Reflexivity on Researching Difficult Topics: Lessons Learned from Interviewing Former Members of Organised Crime in Mexico

Increasing attention has been paid to the emotional effects that conducting research on difficult topics can have on researchers, yet, the literature documenting successful strategies, and more crucially, the lessons learned from researchers working on these topics is still scarce. This paper aims to narrow this gap by sharing the author’s self-reflexivity exercise about her process of researching drug trafficking violence in Mexico. The article discusses her methodological approach, describes her fieldwork experience, addresses the emotional challenges that she experienced, in particular during the transcription process, and shares the lessons learned during this process.

Clandestine Dumpsites and Crime in Mexico City: Revisiting the Broken Windows Theory

Clandestine Dumpsites and Crime in Mexico City: Revisiting the Broken Windows Theory

Exploring the influence of cultural participation on the subjective well-being of victims in Mexico.

Considering the increasing incidence of crime in Mexico, it is necessary to understand the strategies that individuals utilize in response to victimization and the effects of this on their subjective well-being. A generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) analysis with data from the 2012 Self-reported Well-Being Survey (BIARE, n = 10,654); dependent variables: subjective well-being (i.e., cognitive well-being and affective balance); independent variables: self-reported victimization (i.e., by domestic violence, community violence, and structural violence) and cultural participation (i.e., cultural attendance, engagement, and consumption). Results show an overall positive and statistical influence of the cultural participation activities on the subjective well-being of victims of community and structural violence (but not of domestic violence), because, for those who reported higher levels of cultural participation, the probability of better subjective well-being were higher. Victims potentially coped and adapted to stressful and traumatic situations (i.e., experiences of victimization) via cultural participation activities. However, there are distinctive effects according to different forms of violence, which may be accounted for in formulating public policies related to victims. This has implications for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners in improving the general quality of life of victims and the general population.

The Great Evasion: Human Mobility & Organized Crime in Mexico & Its Borders

Abstract Mexico finds itself at the epicenter of unprecedented migration flows. Governments, international organizations, and civil society institutions, however, choose to ignore the current weight of organized crime in the matter. I shape the central thesis of this essay through an account of the phenomenon's evolution, starting in the 1970s. I conclude by analyzing the ongoing migration issue along Mexico's borders with Central America and the United States, while offering recommendations to improve conditions of a migratory problematic made worse by the denial of its existence.

The Institutional Deficiencies Which Cause Mexico’s 95% Impunity Rate

According to reports released by México Evalúa in October of 2021, the current rate of impunity for violent crimes in Mexico is estimated to be 94.8% and this is occurring as the number of homicides and disappearances continues to rise nationwide. To understand how the country remains caught in a perpetual state of extreme violence requires a deeply complex and multi-faceted analysis to determine which specific institutional deficiencies in Mexico might be contributing to the rise and ongoing dominance of organized crime. This article seeks to provide a concise yet broad perspective from which to begin to answer such questions by addressing the problematic development of Mexico’s justice system from the adoption of the 1917 Constitution to the present day, the endemic corruption at all levels of government and security institutions, the tactical imbalances between law enforcement and organized crime due to misuse of funding and illegal arms trafficking, and the failed attempts at bilateral cooperation with the US despite the two nations’ shared interest in disempowering the drug cartels. This comprehensive overview will provide a foundation from which possible solutions will be examined. These solutions include policy changes related to the relationship between the US and Mexico which could improve bilateral cooperation in combatting crime and corruption despite the recent diplomatic breakdown involving the US Drug Enforcement Agency’s arrest and subsequent release of Mexican General Salvador Cienfuegos. Reforms of the justice and law enforcement systems will then be explored which will include proposals that encourage the involvement of international institutions such as the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the International Criminal Court.

Injury-Related Emergency Medical Service Calls, Traffic Accidents, and Crime in Mexico City Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had detrimental impacts across multiple sectors of the Mexican health care system. The prehospital care system, however, remains largely under-studied. The first objective of this study was to calculate the monthly per capita rates of injury-related 9-1-1 calls, traffic accidents, and crime at the state-level (Mexico City) during the early pandemic period (January 1 through June 30, 2020), while the second objective was to conduct these calculations at the borough-level for the same outcomes and time period. The third objective was to compare monthly per capita rates of injury-related 9-1-1 calls, traffic accidents, and crime at the state-level (Mexico City) during the pre-pandemic (January 1 through June 30, 2019), early pandemic (January 1 through June 30, 2020), and later pandemic periods (January 1 through June 30, 2021). A retrospective analysis was conducted to examine injury-related 9-1-1 calls, traffic accidents, and crime at the state-level (Mexico City) and borough-levels. Monthly per capita rates were calculated using four datasets, including Mexico City's Public Release 9-1-1 Emergency Calls, National Institute of Statistics and Geography's (INEGI) Traffic Accidents Micro-Dataset, Mexico City's Attorney General's Office Crime Dataset, and Projections of the Population of the Municipalities of Mexico, 2015 to 2030. All statistical analyses were conducted using STATA 17.0. During the early pandemic period, injury-related 9-1-1 emergency calls, traffic accidents, and crime experienced similar trends in monthly per capita rates at the state-level and borough-levels. While the monthly per capita rates remained constant from January to March 2020, starting in March, there was a precipitous decrease across all three outcomes, although decline rates varied across boroughs. The monthly per capita rates across the three outcomes were higher during the pre-pandemic period compared to the early pandemic period. As the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, the monthly per capita rates during the later pandemic period increased across the three outcomes compared to the early pandemic period, although they did not reach pre-pandemic levels during the study period. The precipitous decline in injury-related 9-1-1 calls, traffic accidents, and crime in Mexico City occurred at the same time as the issuance of the first wave of public health orders in March 2020. The largest decrease across the three outcomes occurred one to two months post-issuance of the orders.

The vanishing independent: adapting to the changing dynamics of drug trafficking organisations in Mexico

ABSTRACT Organised Crime in Mexico has undergone considerable change since 2006 when violent competition between drug trafficking organisations (DTOs) intensified. This article explores changes in drug trafficking activities from the perspective of independent dealers in Mexico City. Based on in-depth interviews (N = 64) we conclude that freelance dealers are increasingly pressured to become affiliated with DTOs despite being reluctant to do so. Our data suggest that cartels are more successful in attracting independent dealers with few economic alternatives, than those who are able to support themselves with a combination of licit and illicit activities. Therefore, to the degree that illicit drug sales are essential for economic sustenance, we expect that drug dealing for a criminal organisation will become norm as independent dealer become drawn into cartel work as licit opportunities diminish. For this reason we expect that independent dealers will continue their decline as the prevalence of DTOs increase from the steady demand for illicit substances.

Making Sense of Electoral Violence: The Narrative Frame of Organised Crime in Mexico

AbstractSince the inauguration of Mexican democracy in 2000, organised criminal violence had been leaking into the political arena. Yet, it escalated in the 2018 elections, when dozens of local candidates were killed. In most of these cases, the concrete perpetrators and motives remained in the dark. How did Mexican society make sense of this opaque, unprecedented wave of electoral violence? On the basis of a qualitative content analysis of over 1,200 news reports, I examine the structuring power of a shared narrative: the frame of organised crime. By conceiving candidate killings as economic violence within the criminal community, this commonsensical frame of interpretation permitted Mexican society to ‘normalise’ these killings as ‘business as usual’ by criminal organisations.

Why Global North criminology fails to explain organized crime in Mexico

The prevailing definitions of organized crime and methodological approaches to studying it derive mainly from the Global North. However, an emergent body of literature suggests that organized crime in the Global South differs from organized crime in the Global North. Focusing on the case of Mexico, I argue that mainstream criminological theories’ inability to explain significant aspects of organized crime in that country stems from their underspecified scope. Mainstream theories analyse organized crime as a phenomenon that transpires in societies characterized by high levels of internal peace, rule of law and strong public institutions. In Mexico, a country that fails to adhere to these conditions, organized crime manifestations defy prevailing theoretical assumptions.

Caught in the Middle: Internal and External Pressures on the Coverage of Organized Crime in Mexico

With 33 journalists killed since the beginning of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidential term in December 2018, Mexico heads the list of the most violent countries for journalists in Latin America—and that of countries not at war. While journalist organizations demand a meaningful protection apparatus to safeguard their physical safety, official corruption, and criminal impunity continue to escalate the pressures to which media staff are exposed, especially in Mexican states where cartels and criminal groups have the largest footprint. This study aims to precisely identify the pressures, both internal and external, facing journalists who report on organized crime in Mexico. To do this, we drew from the Hierarchy of Influences Model, and interviewed 22 Mexican journalists who work on the organized crime beat in the country’s capital and in the most violent states in the Republic. The results suggest that the most influential forces they face are associated with the organizational level (such as editorial line or institutional censorship), and the extramedia level (e.g., anti-press violence from cartels/authorities, and government advertising contracts).

Narrative Strategies of Criminal Legitimacy

This article looks at how criminal agents aim to gain legitimacy within the context of the War on Drugs in Mexico. More precisely, it explores the narrative of legitimization presented in Me dicen “el más loco”, an autobiography of Nazario Moreno González, the leader of the criminal organization La Familia Michoacana. A cultural-studies approach is used to argue that the book combines a Christian version of the social-bandit myth with the narrative strategies of the picaresque novel to legitimize the activities of the group. This article aims to contribute to the larger debate on the powerful imaginary dimension of organized crime in Mexico.