The Dynamics of Violence and Legitimacy in Contemporary Mexico (2006-2018)
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The dynamics of violence and legitimacy in contemporary Mexico (2006-2018) An interplay between the Mexican government, organized crime and society Carlein Kuperus 1971786 Leiden University DECEMBER 2018 – MASTERTHESIS RESEARCH MA LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES Content Preface ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................. 5 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 6 Chapter 1 – Reflections on the theories on state-building, violence and organized crime .......... 9 1.1. The state-building debate ............................................................................................. 9 1.1.1. Theories on ‘the state’ .......................................................................................... 9 1.1.2. Theories on ‘failing’ or ‘failed’ states .................................................................. 12 1.2. State-building and the legitimation process: the monopoly on violence .................... 14 1.2.1. State legitimacy and the legitimation process .................................................... 14 1.2.2. The legitimate use of coercion and a monopoly on violence ............................. 16 1.3. State-building and (transnational) organized crime: violence and the organized crime – politics nexus ...................................................................................................................... 18 1.3.1. A typology of violence ........................................................................................ 18 1.3.2. Organized crime: the actor challenging state legitimacy .................................... 22 1.4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 2 –A changing nature of the Mexican state and DTOs in relation to levels of violence .................................................................................................................................................. 29 2.1. The state-organized crime uneasy equilibrium and the four presidential terms of 1994 – 2012 ................................................................................................................................... 29 2.1.1. Elite-exploitative model (pax priista, pax mafiosa) ............................................. 29 2.1.2. Four presidential terms and the changes in the state-organized crime equilibrium ........................................................................................................................................... 30 2.2. Zooming in on the levels of violence ........................................................................... 35 2.2.1. Statistical data on the homicide rates from 1994 – 2018 ................................... 35 2.2.2. Rising levels of violence and the changing nature of criminal organizations ...... 40 2.3. The years of a drastic increase in homicide rates: 2011, 2014 and 2017.................... 44 2.3.1. The war on drugs in Mexico ................................................................................ 44 2.3.2. The impact of the Ayotzinapa kidnapping of 43 students................................... 46 2.3.3. The highest number of homicides in Mexican history: 2017 .............................. 47 2.4. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 48 Chapter 3 - The complexities of violence in Mexico: intensification, diversification, normalization and the struggle between the state, DTOs and society ............................................................. 50 3.1. The dimensions of violence in Mexico......................................................................... 51 3.1.1. The factor of geography in Mexico: territorial absence of the state and the micro- dynamics of violence ......................................................................................................... 51 1 3.1.2. The modern and global dimension of violence ................................................... 54 3.1.3. The diversification of violence: a quantitative and qualitative transformation .. 56 3.1.4. The normalization and atomization of violence in Mexico: a narcoculture ........ 58 3.2. The actors of violence in Mexico ................................................................................. 60 3.2.1. The government .................................................................................................. 60 3.2.2. Organized crime .................................................................................................. 60 3.2.3. Society ................................................................................................................. 62 3.3. The effect of the dimensions of violence: a culture of violence .................................. 63 3.4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 64 Chapter 4 - The dynamics of violence and state legitimacy in Mexico: from a culture of illegality to a security, capacity and legitimacy gap ................................................................................ 65 4.1. The issue of legitimacy in Mexico: a culture of illegality ............................................. 65 4.2. The dimensions of legitimacy in Mexico: the capacity, security and legitimacy gap .. 69 4.2.1. The capacity gap ................................................................................................. 69 4.2.2. The security gap .................................................................................................. 71 4.2.3. The legitimacy gap .............................................................................................. 72 4.3. The effects of legitimacy in Mexico ............................................................................. 72 4.3.1. Considerations when looking at legitimacy of the Mexican state ....................... 73 4.3.2. The different types of legitimacy in Mexico ........................................................ 74 4.4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 76 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 77 Reference list ............................................................................................................................ 83 2 Preface This study has been conducted and written in order to accomplish the requirements of the Research Master’s Program Latin American Studies from Leiden University. The fieldwork, in order to obtain and access all the necessary information, was conducted in Mexico, mainly Mexico City, and took place between June and October 2018. Parts of the research were challenging, because of being a female researcher and because of the current security situation in Mexico. However, the desired results were accomplished, and these complicating factors have made the fieldwork and this study all the more interesting. The timing of the fieldwork was also exciting, as the presidential elections in Mexico were held on July 1st, with as its result that, for the first time in Mexican history, a left-winged presidential candidate won. Moreover, during the finalization process of this study, the elected president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has taken office on December 1st, 2018. The photo on the cover page of this thesis I have taken myself. The location is the Zócalo, the main plaza in the center of Mexico City, on the remembrance day of the Iguala mass kidnapping, in which 43 students of the Ayotzinapa Rural Teacher’s College disappeared, to never return. Part of this study will also elaborate on this event. The photo on the last page of this document was taken the same day and on the same plaza; it was a cultural contribution to demonstrate against the violence in Mexico. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my thesis supervisor professor Soledad Valdivia, for the constructive feedback and for helping me to organize the monstrous amount of information I had in my head and put it into this thesis. Thank you Rodrigo Peña, for the endless coffees whilst discussing the central concepts of violence and legitimacy in Mexico, and for putting me in touch with the right people. Muchísimas gracias to my interviewees for taking the time to receive me and share their knowledge: Armando Rodríguez Luna, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Luis Astorga, Fernando Escalante Gonzalbo, Marcos Pablo Moloeznik, Jovani Josué Rivera Gutiérrez, Mario Pavel Díaz Román, José Luis Méndez Martínez, Francisco Gómez and Raúl Benítez. Y gracias Sergio Aguayo Quezada and Raúl Benítez for letting me participate in their specialized course on Political and Criminal Violence at El Colegio de México. And last 3 but not least, an enormous thank you to my family and (Mexican) friends, for putting up with my stress and nerves during the process and for brainstorming with me when I was struggling to concretize ideas and thoughts. I hope this study will be perceived as an accessible source of information for those