University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 12-2017 Literary and Cinematic Representations of Neoliberal Forms of Contemporary Violence in Latin America with Special Interest in Mexico and Colombia Ivan De Jesus Iglesias University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Comparative Literature Commons, Latin American History Commons, Latin American Literature Commons, Latin American Studies Commons, and the Visual Studies Commons Recommended Citation Iglesias, Ivan De Jesus, "Literary and Cinematic Representations of Neoliberal Forms of Contemporary Violence in Latin America with Special Interest in Mexico and Colombia" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 2539. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2539 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. 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Literary and Cinematic Representations of Neoliberal Forms of Contemporary Violence in Latin America with Special Interest in Mexico and Colombia A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies by Iván Iglesias Universidad del Atlántico, Colombia Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages, 1992 University of Arkansas Master of Arts in Spanish, 2002 December 2017 University of Arkansas This dissertation is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. ________________________________ Luis Fernando Restrepo, Ph.D. Dissertation Director ________________________________ ________________________________ Sergio Villalobos, Ph.D. Keith Booker, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member Abstract In the last decades, with an increased rhythm and greater intensity, the so-called neoliberal violence has come to play a relevant role within the history of world societies. The Latin American institutional, political, social, and economic changes of the 1970’s and 1980’s, especially those produced under dictatorships, contributed to create the conditions for the implementation of the processes of economic liberalization and global market as part of the concept of institutional modernization and cultural globalization that gave rise to the neoliberal mentality. In this context, neoliberalism becomes hegemonic as a mode of discourse and is incorporated into the way individuals interpret, live in, and understand the world. Its incorporation into world societies has motivated changes in the division of labor, changes in social relations, the dismantling of welfare necessities, increase in technology, and differentiation in the ways of life and thought, but more importantly, it has motivated the rise of new forms of contemporary violence which develop and nurture themselves from the political and economic opportunities that neoliberalism creates. This work will present a theoretical approach of the theme of neoliberalism and will concentrate its study on literary and cinematic representations of the theme of narcotraffic and the relation migration-feminicides as new forms of contemporary neoliberal violence in the context of Latin America with special interest in Mexico and Colombia. In this sense, the work of authors such as David Harvey, Hermann Herlinghaus, Ileana Rodriguez, Jean Franco, and others; will contribute to the analysis of the theme of violence in this study in ways that will support how violence has been used historically as a tool to perpetuate relationships of domination. Also, the literary and cinematic representations of the theme of neoliberal violence will be analyzed in the works of Fernando Vallejo (La virgen de los sicarios), Jorge Franco (Rosario Tijeras), Roberto Bolaño (2666), Orfa Alarcón (Perra Brava), Juan Pablo Villalobos (Fiesta en la madriguera), and Yuri Herrera (Los trabajos del reino) are analyzed in this work. Key words: violence, neoliberalism, globalization, colonialism, feminicides, narcotraffic, migration, capital accumulation, marginalization, disposable workers, postmodernism, and competitiveness. © 2017 by Iván Iglesias All Rights Reserved Acknowledgements This is the work of a crew, an incredible sailing crew that navigated by my side during the most exciting and frightening moments of this literary adventure. God is my Captain and main source of strength and direction not only for my professional endeavors, but also for my personal ones. Luis Fernando Restrepo, my Quarter Master, helped me chart a clearer route and kept me on course. His valuable work in overseeing my journey was crucial to a safe arrival. His expertise and spirit of service are greatly appreciated. Sergio Villalobos, my Sailing Master, inspired me to steer my boat to unknown oceans of imagination and harsh realities. His theoretical intellectual influence in the early stages of my literary adventure also contributed to shaping my route. Keith Booker, my Boatswain, supervised maintenance activities to assure the impeccability of all sailing requirements. Carlitos, Alejandra, Carolina, Jaqueline, Nelson, Lina Maritza, Orlandito, Luz Helena, Santiago, and Enrique, served as my Riggers. These are the sailors who always stood by my side in moments when I thought I would not reach the end of my journey. They were also dear partakers of this quest. To them I owe the encouragement, the laughter, and the joy that inspired me to reach my port of arrival. Finally, I am very grateful to Wendy Dodge, lead rigger, whose academic support in the supervision of my work became a key instrument during the intellectual challenges provided by the whirling masses of knowledge of the University of Arkansas. I would like to make a special mention to John Brown University for its financial support and for providing a Christian environment that enriched me with feelings of hope and strength. Dedication Star, Christian, and Noah: the time and effort invested in the fulfillment of this work were meant to build a future of love, excitement, respect, and gratitude, but more importantly a future of HOPE for all of you. Thank you so much for your unconditional love and support!!! Husband and father: Iván Table of Contents i. Introduction 1 i.i The Road to Latin American Neoliberalism 2 i.ii Previous Discussions of our Corpus/Literature Review 8 i.iii Distribution of Chapters 19 1. Chapter One: Globalization and Neoliberalism: A Theoretical Approach 21 1.1. A Theoretical Approach to Globalization 26 1.2. A Theoretical Approach to Neoliberalism 37 1.3. Neoliberalism in Latin America 47 1.4. Neoliberalism with Colombian Characteristics 49 1.5. Neoliberalism with Mexican Characteristics 56 1.6. Conclusion 62 2. Chapter Two: From Colonial to Neoliberal Violence 64 2.1. A Thought About Inequality 67 2.2. Colonial Violence: Iberian Colonialism of 16th & 17th Centuries 69 2.3. Colonial Violence: 19th Century Colonialism 72 2.4. Neo-colonial Violence: 20th Century Colonialism 85 2.5. Neoliberal Violence: 20th & 21st Centuries 97 2.6. Conclusion 101 3. Chapter Three: Narcotraffic: A Brief History of its Emergence in the World Market 104 3.1. Narcotraffic: The Colombian Case 107 3.2. Narcotraffic: The Mexican Case 116 3.3. Sicarios: Postmodern Subjects and their Violence as Literary Commercialization 124 3.4. Mexican Representations of Drug Trafickerss in Perra Brava, Fiesta en la madriguera, and Los trabajos del reino 144 3.4.1. Narco.language 146 3.4.2. Narco.body 148 3.4.3. Narco.architecture 153 3.4.4. Narco.music 159 3.5. Conclusion 166 4. Chapter Four: Migration & Feminicides 168 4.1. Ciudad Juárez: Its Accelerated Modernity and Sex Crimes 172 4.2. Roberto Bolaño’s Depictions of Feminicides in 2666 181 4.3. Conclusion 190 5. Conclusions 192 6. Works Cited 199 1 i. Introduction In the last decades, with an increased rhythm and greater intensity, the so-called neoliberal violence has come to play a relevant role within the history of world societies. The historical period inaugurated in 1964 with the coup d’état in Brazil put an end to the anti- imperialist projects and anticipated the fall of Latin America’s socialism. The Latin American institutional, political, social, and economic changes of this time, especially those produced under dictatorships, contributed to create the conditions for the implementation of the processes of economic liberalization and global market as part of the concept of institutional modernization and cultural globalization. The transition from dictatorships to democratic governments and the frequent economic crises that hit the region were strong factors that contributed to generate an institutional and political instability that still persists nowadays.1 This particular category of violence established by military regimes in Latin America during the 1960’s and 1970’s was characterized by the destruction or invalidation of the previous social welfare state. These military regimes suspended established laws and constitutions, threatened human rights, and certain freedoms, such as that of speech, were censored to varying degrees. Thus, the military consolidated itself as the hegemonic power and paved the way to the emerging neoliberal thought that would come to dominate today’s cultural, political, and economic spheres of world societies, but more importantly to dictate the financial rules of engagement of the world market.2 In Global Modernity, Arif Dirlick suggests “that