Citizens against Crime and Violence

Societal Responses in Mexico

Trevor Stack, Trevor Stack

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781978827653
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

Mexico has become notorious for crime-related violence, and the efforts of governments and national and international NGOs to counter this violence have proven largely futile. Citizens against Crime and Violence studies societal responses to crime and violence within one of Mexico's most affected regions, the state of Michoacán. Based on comparative ethnography conducted over twelve months by a team of anthropologists and sociologists across six localities of Michoacán, ranging from the most rural to the most urban, the contributors consider five varieties of societal responses: local citizen security councils that define security and attempt to influence its policing, including by self-defense groups; cultural activists looking to create safe 'cultural' fields from which to transform their social environment; organizations in the state capital that combine legal and political strategies against less visible violence (forced disappearance, gender violence, anti-LGBT); church-linked initiatives bringing to bear the church's institutionality, including to denounce 'state capture'; and women's organizations creating 'safe' networks allowing to influence violence prevention.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• 1. The Comparative Ethnography of Societal Responses to Crime and Violence in Mexico
• 2. Local Citizen Security Councils: Sustainable Responses to a Crisis of Trust in State Security Provision
• 3. Cultural Activism: Mobilizing Art and Culture to Build Transformative Sociopolitical Fields
• 4. Sociolegal Activism in Contexts of Criminal and Institutional Violence: Challenging Forced Disappearances, Gender Violence, and Assaults on LGBTI+ People and Sex Workers
• 5. Churches as Institutions in Regions of Violent Organized Crime
• 6. A Room of Their Own: Barriers to Women’s Activism against the Continuum of Violence in Michoacán, Mexico
• 7. Key Objectives, Strategic Choices, and the Impact of Societal Responses to Violence: Lessons for Policy and Practice
• 8. Society to the Rescue? Rethinking Responses to Crime and Violence
• Acknowledgments
• Notes on Contributors
• Index