Mexico’s Armed Vigilante Movements (2012–2015): The Impact of Low State Capacity and Economic Inequality

Abstract

This article disputes recent studies that find no relationship between homicides and vigilantism. Using a unique panel dataset that controls for time and region, this study shows that the relationship exists. The evidence is consistent with the theory of low-capacity states: high homicide rates indicate unchecked criminal enclaves that further corrode trust in police. The territorial gaps in the central state’s presence that O’Donnell once called “brown areas” cost people their lives. Vigilantes react through defensive movements in which ordinary people substitute for the police to fill a security gap. The panel results also indicate that wealth inequality matters. Business people reportedly finance the vigilante organizations, which helps them to sustain collective action over time. Together with income inequality, Mexico’s low-capacity state facilitated an armed vigilante movement between 2012 and 2015.

Vigilantism and Institutions: Understanding Attitudes toward Lynching in Brazil

“…Moreover, it is still unclear whether other forms of vigilantism, such as security patrols, property damages, or coercive interrogations, have similar levels of popular support (Bateson, 2021). Finally, lynchings have often been described as a response to low state capacity (Trevizo, 2022), yet in some cases state agents actively incite or engage in vigilante violence themselves (Arias and Goldstein, 2010). Future studies may investigate in which circumstances state authorities favor informal local control instead of public law enforcement.…”

Organizational Form and Fragmentation in the Lethal Outcomes of Mexico’s Vigilante Mobilizations, 2012–2015

“…As such, they develop strategy, establish a division of labor, and authorize leaders to make decisions. But unlike typical movements that develop elaborate political ideologies for change, vigilantes tend to react to local security threats that, from their viewpoints, states fail to address (Goldstein 2003;Trevizo 2022;Le Cour Grandmaison 2016).…”