Institutional Weakness and Anti-Crime Experience in Mexico

This paper discusses the relation between the political situation in Mexico and the evolution of organized crime through an analysis of the case of the state of Michoacan. It proposes that the failure of the policies implemented to combat crime in the country can largely be explained by the adoption...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Aguirre-Ochoa, Jerjes, Gómez, Mario
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:Ecuador
Institución:Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales
Repositorio:Revista URVIO
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec:article/4407
Acceso en línea:https://revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec/urvio/article/view/4407
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Crime; Corrupção; Drogas; México; Michoacán
Crimen; Corrupción; Drogas; México; Michoacán
Crime; Corruption; Drugs; Mexico; Michoacan
Descripción
Sumario:This paper discusses the relation between the political situation in Mexico and the evolution of organized crime through an analysis of the case of the state of Michoacan. It proposes that the failure of the policies implemented to combat crime in the country can largely be explained by the adoption of a police-military strategy that does not address the structural causes of violence. In terms of methodology, research was conducted from an ethnographic perspective based on a detailed examination of the anti-crime policies of recent Mexican presidential administrations and their impact on Michoacán; an analysis framed in the perspective of historical institutionalism. The study concludes that by taking advantage of the weakness of the state and broad gaps in its authority, power groups such as organized crime have successfully embedded themselves in the wider society and the specific, concrete dynamics of the Mexican political system, especially at the level of local governments, making the problem of criminality a political matter, not one that concerns only the police or the military.