Crime In Mexico Research Articles

Druglords Don’t Stay at Home: COVID-19 Pandemic and Crime Patterns in Mexico City

Objective: To investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on conventional crime and organized crime in Mexico City, Mexico.Methods: Mexico City’s Attorney General’s Office reported crime data, covering domestic violence, burglary, robbery, vehicle-theft, assault-battery, homicides, kidnapping, and extortion. We use an event study for the intertemproal variation across the 16 districts (municipalities) in Mexico City for 2019 and 2020.Results: We find a sharp decrease on crimes related to domestic violence, burglary, and vehicle theft; a decrease during some weeks on crimes related to assaultbattery and extortion, and no effects on crimes related to robbery, kidnapping, and homicides.Conclusions: While our results show a decline in conventional crime during the COVID-19 pandemic, organized crime remains steady. These findings have policy implications for catastrophic events around the world, as well as possible national security issues in Mexico.

Narcotráfico y desarrollo político en el México contemporáneo

Este artículo presenta el narcotráfico como un problema multidimensional ya que afecta a una amplia panorámica de delitos y perturba la convivencia social a la vez que atenta contra las raíces del propio estado, debilitando las estructuras de poder, corrompiéndolas y haciendo cada vez más difícil la separación entre la legalidad y la industria de la droga. A partir de esta premisa se analiza la evolución del narcotráfico en México y la relación existente entre el mismo y el poder político así como su efecto en cuestiones como los derechos humanos. Finalmente se ofrecen algunas reflexiones sobre las posibles soluciones.

Do local elections increase violence? Electoral cycles and organized crime in Mexico

Although several previous studies have advanced the knowledge of how violence perpetrated by DTOs affects electoral outcomes, the study of how levels of criminal violence vary during local electoral contests remains scant. Stated differently, we know little on whether the local electoral cycle has an effect on the level of criminal violence. Employing the CIDE-PPD Database, we find that local elections do have an effect on levels of DTOs violence and that the greatest incentives to upscale violence occur shortly before election day. These fluctuations suggest that DTOs are actively seeking to influence local governance in their favor especially during the campaigns. Our analysis also suggests that candidates in local Mexican elections face a more precarious and dangerous situation compared to recently-elected authorities.

Exploring crime patterns in Mexico City

IntroductionLife in the city generates data on human behavior in many different ways. Measuring human behavior in terms of criminal offenses plays a critical role on identifying the most common crime type in each urban area. A primary concern for the population of the largest cities in the world is to avoid specific city zones that could show a significant risk. This case of study systematically explores different sources of data including social media related to crime reports. In addition, this research seeks to examine and predict the most frequent crimes in Mexico City.Case descriptionThis case study was conducted in the form of an exploratory research. One of the parties involved is the Mexico City Police Department which released the approximate locations and categories of all crime reports from January 2013 to September 2016. We analyze the impact of crime in Mexico City based on 13 official crime categories: Robbery passerby, Theft of motor vehicle, Robbery of business property, Card fraud, Homicide, Domestic burglary, Robbery on public transportation, Rape, Firearm injuries, Robbery in subway, Robbery on taxi, Robbery to carrier, and Robbery to deliver person. We compare and analyze how people report a crime through the traditional system and using social media.Discussion and evaluationThis research uses a quantitative case study approach to investigate, how our predictive model is able to forecast the total number of reported crimes in the following week based on its previous weekly aggregated observations and Google Trends series. Similarly, this case study seeks to determine whether Twitter performs correctly as a “social crime sensor” in terms of detecting certain areas and boroughs that are more likely to show criminal behavior.ConclusionsIn this study we used a linear predictive model in order to evaluate the performance of Google Trends in predicting crime rates based on weekly analysis. In addition, Twitter showed a suitable performance to discover the spatial distribution of crime frequency in Mexico City. Finally, this study provides an important opportunity to develop and encourage tailored strategies to tackle crime.

<em>Los Halcones</em>: The Forgotten Children in Mexico's Organized Crime Conflict

Children in Mexico are being increasingly recruited as lookouts for drug trafficking organizations in the on-going criminal conflict in the country. The numbers of minors working with organized crime in Mexico is unclear but human rights groups estimate that 30,000 children are currently involved in the conflict. However, the scholarly interest in the role of children in organized crime in Mexico is scarce, with an on-going acknowledgment of their role but no further discussion surrounding their recruitment, activities, or outcomes in the conflict. This position paper will provide the first overview of the role of children in Mexico's conflict, using scholarly and official references to provide a comprehensive overview of the present situation.

Sandra C. Mendiola García. Street Democracy: Vendors, Violence, and Public Space in Late Twentieth-Century Mexico.

Democracy, street vending, violence, and public space are well-addressed themes in the literature on twentieth-century Mexico. In addition to my own account (Diane E. Davis, Urban Leviathan: Mexico City in the Twentieth Century [1994]), among the best works in this regard are books from John Lear (Workers, Neighbors, and Citizens: The Revolution in Mexico City [2001]), Pablo Piccato (City of Suspects: Crime in Mexico City, 1900–1931 [2001]), and John Cross (Informal Politics: Street Vendors and the State in Mexico City [1998]). In most of the writings on these interconnected themes, whether historiographical, sociological, or otherwise, the geographic site of inquiry is usually Mexico City. Sandra C. Mendiola García’s Street Democracy offers a refreshing and important departure from the preoccupation with the capital city, and by so doing provides a new perspective on Mexican democracy and the uses of coercion and violence to control urban social activism in sites outside the capital. Through an examination of a radical alliance of students, professors, and street vending associations from Puebla who founded the Popular Union of Street Vendors (UPVA) in the 1970s, this book reveals the heavy hand of the local state in violently stamping out cross-class political alliances calling for a new form of politics to challenge the oligarchic and clientelistic practices in a city relatively under-recognized in the Mexican national imaginary.

Epigénesis del periodismo sobre el narco en México

Este artículo muestra la forma en que se organizó y consolidó un tipo de ejercicio informativo que hoy es boyante en México: el periodismo sobre el narcotráfico. A partir de una revisión de archivo de los trabajos periodísticos hechos en torno a tres casos emblemáticos ocurridos en la década que va de 1984 a 1994 (caso Camarena, caso Álvarez Machain y caso Posadas), el trabajo ofrece evidencia empírica de que fue en esas páginas escritas en aquel momento donde se organiza la aparición epigénica de una nueva positividad periodística en México: el narco. Los datos desplegados permiten concluir que “los periodistas del narco” son solamente uno de los distintos fenómenos en materia de ejercicio informativo que han sido provocados por el entorno de violencia delictiva en que actualmente se encuentra el país. Al final del documento se enlistan algunos de dichos periodistas reconocidos en México por su producción narrativa sobre el narco.

Mourning our dead: The impact of Mexico’s war on drugs on citizens’ depressive symptoms

BackgroundResearch has shown the substantial impact on mental health for victims of drug-related crime in Mexico, especially individuals who have been heavily exposed to violence. However, the effect of drug-related violence in non-victims has been less studied because causal pathways via indirect violence are more ambiguous. We argue that drug-related violence does have an influence on the mental health of non-victims: For example, because of how violence is publicized by criminal groups, including their use of gruesome killing methods in executions, or via news about government confrontations with these criminal groups. MethodsWe estimate linear models of the effect of drug-related violence (CIDE-PPD database) on depression symptoms (MxFLS 2009–2012). We use lagged violence variables to match the time when individuals’ depression symptoms were reported, using different proxies of violence. FindingsOur findings suggest a negative effect of drug-related violence on the mental health of individuals, specifically in relation to communication used by criminal groups (narcomessages), the brutality of executions, and the confrontations between government forces (specifically local police) and criminal groups. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the general population is a direct victim of the psychological violence imposed by the use of narcomessages. This additional effect of the war on drugs should be considered when deciding how to address the psychological effects of drug-related violence. The government should provide safer public spaces to improve perceptions about security, and more mental health services in communities that are most affected by organized crime violence. Mental health is also affected when police forces fight criminal groups. These findings corroborate the crisis of local institutions, the low confidence citizens have in police, and/or the infiltration of organized crime in local police corps. Mexico requires police reform, not only to avoid the involvement of the military in public security operations, but also to avoid social and psychological damage produced by weak police forces fighting organized crime.

Building institutional capacity: knowledge production for transnational security governance in Mexico

ABSTRACTThis article engages with institutionalist knowledge production in US-Mexican security relations, demonstrating how anti-crime governance in the Americas has shifted from a heavy-handed military rationale to a good governance and civil society–centred approach. This shift has been facilitated by the newly emerging resilience discourse which advocates turning local communities from passive beneficiaries of government-sponsored law enforcement into pro-active security partners. It will be argued that the rise of good governance and society-centred policy thinking has enhanced the epistemic authority of a heterogeneous, but ideologically aligned set of human rights advocacy groups, think tanks, policy-oriented academics and for-profit development NGOs – both in Mexico and the United States. This transnational expert community has been instrumental in inserting the issue of drug-related violent crime in Mexico into a globally dominant statebuilding framework. In consequence, security governance in Mexico has taken on a more transnational character and become the object of a highly intrusive international monitoring regime.

Informed Gatekeepers and Transnational Violence: Using Perceptions of Safety of Latino/a Youth in Determining Legal Cases

From 2013 to 2017, thousands of unaccompanied children (UCs) arrived in Louisiana from Latin America. This research aims to increase understanding of experiences of Latino/a youth who came to New Orleans during that migratory peak. This study offers additional background information on the violent circumstances that forced youth to migrate and insight into youth perceptions of public safety for stakeholders in law and public policy. By triangulating secondary data on crime in Mexico, Central America, and New Orleans with primary survey data ( N = 52), this study found that the majority of surveyed youth (79.2 %) consider New Orleans safer than their country of origin. This finding, among other significant findings related to violence and perceived effectiveness of law enforcement, can be used to advise stakeholders when considering legal options for youth. Moreover, this study generates applied research that contextualizes immigrant youth experiences and their perceptions of safety, offering a methodology for future scholarship.

The Ambiguity of American Power: Drugs, Crime, and Violence in Latin America

This essay reviews the following works: Drug Trafficking, Organized Crime, and Violence in the Americas Today. Edited by Bruce M. Bagley and Jonathan D. Rosen. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2015. Pp. ix + 431. $84.95 cloth. ISBN: 9780813060682. The Politics of Crime in Mexico: Democratic Governance in a Security Trap. By John Bailey. Boulder, CO: Lynn Rienner Publishers, 2014. Pp. ix + 225. $65.00 cloth. ISBN: 9781935049890. Women Drug Traffickers: Mules, Bosses, and Organized Crime. By Elaine Carey. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2014. Pp. vii + 281. $29.95 paper. ISBN: 9780826351982. Linking Political Violence and Crime in Latin America: Myths, Realities, and Complexities. Edited by Kirsten Howarth and Jenny H. Peterson. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2016. Pp. vii + 143. $80.00 cloth. ISBN: 9781498507196. Drugs, Thugs, and Diplomats: U.S. Policymaking in Colombia. By Winifred Tate. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2015. Pp. xi + 275. $29.95 paper. ISBN: 9780804795661.

Efectos de la corrupción y la desconfianza en la Policía sobre el miedo al delito. Un estudio exploratorio en México

This paper explores the social and cultural background of fear of crime in Mexico. Using data from a survey applied to undergraduate students, the results of a structural equation modeling provide evidence that perceived corruption and low confidence in police partly explain the fear of crime expressed by respondents, even after controlling for the effects of victimization. The discussion focuses on the need for more comprehensive policies to combat fear of crime that do not focus solely on the fight against crime.

Mexico: Internal security, surveillance, and authoritarianism

The recent violence linked to drug trafficking in Mexico has been dealt with by the federal government by increasing police presence on the streets and involving the army in public safety activities. This has not decreased violence but has increased cases of human rights violation, and the capabilities of non-regulated surveillance and monitoring of the population. Thus, the new internal security law suggests that the police and the army will be able to “develop intelligence activities” by “any information gathering method.” They will also be able to require information from other authorities that they consider necessary to ensure “constitutional order,” as well as the “continuity” and “survival” of State institutions. The law has generated a wide public debate that contrasts two competing discourses.

Del crimen organizado al crimen desordenado

El tráfico de drogas en México ha sido la actividad más importante del crimen organizado, favorecida por las tendencias económica y sociocultural. Desde la década de 1980 hasta fechas recientes, esta actividad ha sufridomodificaciones tanto conceptuales como contextuales. En este trabajo se analiza desde una perspectiva histórica y sociocultural qué factores influyen en el aumento de los niveles de violencia de las organizaciones criminales,las cuales han desarrollado medios predadores para acrecentar su control territorial y económico, y doblegar al poder político y policiaco. A su vez, se busca dilucidar cómo el fenómeno criminal se ha transformado en el tiempoy el espacio, lo cual ha implicado el desarrollo de nuevas actividades delictivas desorganizadas

John Bailey , The Politics of Crime in Mexico: Democratic Governance in a Security Trap (Boulder, CO, and London: First Forum Press, 2014), pp. xi + 233, £48.50, hb.

John Bailey , The Politics of Crime in Mexico: Democratic Governance in a Security Trap (Boulder, CO, and London: First Forum Press, 2014), pp. xi + 233, £48.50, hb.

Is crime in Mexico a disamenity? Evidence from a hedonic valuation approach

Since Roback’s seminal work (J Polit Econ 90(6):1257–1278, 1982), the literature on hedonic prices has evaluated the role of amenities in equilibrating regional differentials in nominal wages and prices. While these studies generally find evidence for traditional amenities and disamenities in developed countries, there remains little research on how characteristics such as violence affect the equilibrium in less developed countries. This article explores violence and other local characteristics as an amenity or disamenity for Mexico and employs the hedonic wage and rent theory proposed by Roback. This research uses a multilevel estimation technique using data from the Mexican Household Income and Expenditure Survey, along with other information from the municipal and state levels. This article finds evidence to suggest that illegal earning opportunities outweigh crime disamenity by inhabitants of some traditional drug-trafficking regions, because such crime appears to be the modus vivendi in those regions in a way that does not reduce economic performance.

Fragmentation and cooperation: the evolution of organized crime in Mexico

Some researchers suggest that the observed boom in the levels of violence in Mexico since 2008 are a consequence of placing federal military forces in states with a significant organized crime presence. However, little has been said about the role of the changeable, competitive, and violent nature of criminal organizations on this increasing violence. Using the literature on inter- and intra-state conflicts as matter of analogy to explain organized crime developments in Mexico, fragmentation and cooperation seem to be determinant forces that alter the equilibrium within Mexican criminal groups, affecting their territorial control. By using a private dataset gathered by the Drug Policy Program at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE), we examine the evolution of criminal organizations in Mexico by focusing on their different alliances and fragmentations from December 2006 to December 2011. Our analysis suggests that violence is a consequence not only of the law enforcement actions, but also of the fragmentation and cooperation within and between private groups.

Mexico On A Criminal Traffic Scenario

The article describes the problem of organized crime in modern Mexico. It addresses the activities of criminal clans, which profoundly evolved since the 1930s. The USMexican extensive border length and the stable demand for drugs in the United States leads to the continuous flow of illegal migrants and drugs from Mexico to the US and American firearms back to Mexico. First, the authors address the issue of interconnectedness of crime in the neighboring countries. Second, they describe the geographical distribution of crime activity. It shows the influence of organized crime on the political life oin Mexico and ways of its adaptation to law enforcement pressure, namely division and disaggregation. The authors state that the fight against organized crime was ineffective in Mexico in 2006-2012, because it ignored political and cultural realities, it used exclusively force and almost did not involve civil society. In addition, it only increased the level of violence in the country and contributed to the growth of corruption in the ranks of law enforcement. Moreover, it increased the level of violence in the country and contributed to the growth of corruption in the ranks of law enforcement. Many of its components had a pronounced «pre-election» character, aimed at attracting the voter with the promise of an «early and decisive victory» over criminals. The article proposes new approach to the problem of organized crime in Mexico. To start with, government should refuse to use unilateral, as well as politicized and opportunistic actions. The involvement of civic society is of ultimate importance.

Fear and Loitering in Mexico: The Significance of Age Structure, Education, and Youth Unemployment for Explaining Sub-National Variation in Violent Youth Crime

Violent crime in Mexico occurs at a rate that dwarf the human costs of most contemporary civil wars, and the drug cartels responsible for the violence exercise de facto control over significant geographical territories. In this respect, the Mexican ‘drug wars’ resemble conflicts over the control of rich natural resources in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere, blurring the distinction between ‘political’ and ‘social’ or ‘criminal’ violence. In the civil war literature, the ‘opportunity perspective’ emphasizes conditions that provide opportunities for a rebel group to wage war against a government. Similarly, relatively large groups of ‘idle’ young men could arguably be a factor that reduces recruitment costs for criminal enterprises through the abundant supply of youth with low opportunity cost. Acknowledging organized crime around drugs trafficking as a major cause of crime and violence in Mexico, we ask whether the availability of large young male cohorts, or male ‘youth bulges’, low education, and high youth unemployment eases recruitment to these organizations and may contribute to explain variance in violent crime across Mexican states over time. Using panel data covering 32 states in Mexico during the 1997–2010 period, we find that while a coarse measure of regional youth bulges does not explain patterns of violent youth crime, high youth unemployment in low-education strata does, and in particular in the context of large male youth bulges. These results remain robust to alternative data, sample size, estimation techniques and controls for potential endogeneity concerns.

Fear of Crime in Mexico: The Impacts of Municipality Characteristics

In the last decade, Mexico, the second largest economy in Latin America, has seen high poverty, inequality, and increasing homicide rates, which has led to widespread fear of crime. Two important challenges to understand the elevated levels of fear of crime are the lack of agreement on how to measure it and the debate on whether it responds to actual crime or to a general feeling of vulnerability associated with poverty. Moreover there is little research in Mexico examining the complex influence of social context at the municipality level, on the relationship between person-level characteristics and fear of crime. Using Mexico’s 2015 National Survey of Victimization the goal of the study is to estimate a two-level hierarchical regression analysis combining the effects of person-level predictors and municipality level context variables to explain fear of crime in Mexico´s urban population. Our results show that some person level attributes—victimization, incivilities, trust, police effectiveness, and collective organization—are consistently associated with the three domains of fear of crime: feelings of insecurity, perceptions of risk, and avoidance behaviors. The study shows that homicide rates at the municipality level are directly associated with feelings of insecurity and avoidance behaviors. In addition, high multidimensional poverty and inequality at the municipality level amplified the rate by which incivilities affect perceptions of risk. Unexpectedly, collective efficacy at the municipality level and collective organization to solve crime at the individual level were positive and significant predictors for fear of crime in Mexico.