Insurgent Vigilantism and Drug War in Mexico

Abstract

<jats:p> The proliferation of armed, anti-crime self-defence groups ( autodefensas) in Mexico since 2013 has sparked renewed scholarly interest in vigilantism and the politics of collective violence more generally. Whilst most of this recent scholarship attempts to explain where and why such groups emerge in the first place, very little attention has been paid to the micro-foundations of vigilante organisation and behaviour. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Mexico in 2018, and incorporating theoretical insights from the social movements, civil war, and organised crime literatures, this paper examines the political strategies and collection action regimes of contemporary vigilante mobilisation. I argue that vigilante groups in Mexico employ the tactics of popular insurgency both as a negotiating tool to influence government behaviour or policy, and as a primary mechanism to overcome collection action problems in high-risk environments. </jats:p>

Legacies of Resistance: Mobilization Against Organized Crime in Mexico

“…Despite their original goals and initial mobilization success, many autodefensa groups have since fragmented or been coopted by organized crime (García, 2019; Wolff, 2020).…”

“…Complementing these heroic tales, the Catholic Church likely provided another reliable institutional transmission belt for preserving a strong spirit of self-reliance and autonomy in communities that featured Cristeros (Meyer, 1973; Tuck, 1982). Moreover, Wolff (2020, p. 42) highlights, based on ethnographic research in Michoacán, how networks linked to autodefensa groups tended to coalesce around the Catholic Church. 9…”

“…First, we add to an emerging literature on self-defense group formation in response to organized crime, which tends to posit either economic explanations for vigilante appearance (Phillips, 2017) or focus on the ineffectiveness of state institutions in providing justice (Godoy, 2006). Few look to historical legacies to explain contemporary mobilization of self-defense groups (for important exceptions see Bateson, 2013, 2020; Ley & Trejo, 2019; Wolff, 2020). 3 Second, we contribute to the literature on the legacies of important historical events, particularly those involving violence (Bateson, 2020; Daly, 2012; Osorio et al, 2018a; Rozenas et al, 2017; Zhukov & Talibova, 2018).…”

“…3Wolff (2020) highlights the role of past conflicts in his ethnographic study of collective identities, strategies, and resistance narratives among self-defense groups in Mexico.…”

“…9Describing narratives and repertoires of resistance in Michoacán, Wolff (2020) argues that indigenous self-defense leaders often invoked the Purépecha history, while the Cristero rebellion featured prominently in the mostly non-indigenous autodefensa leaders’ mobilizing narratives.…”