“Complete Labelling” and Domestic Prosecutions for Crimes Against Humanity

Fair labelling is an established principle of criminal justice that scrutinises the way that States use language in labelling criminal defendants and their conduct. I argue that “complete labelling” is a related but separate principle which has not received any explicit attention from commentators. Whereas fair labelling focuses, usually, on the protection of defendant’s rights, the principle of complete labelling explains and justifies whether the labels attached appropriately represent the nature and scale of the wrong done to the community. As a case study, I apply this lens in the context of regional (U.S./Mexican) criminal justice responses to crimes against humanity perpetrated by “drug-cartels” in the context of the Mexican Drug War. Successive administrations in Mexico and the U.S. have tended to charge cartel leaders (and/or their political supporters) with so-called “transnational crimes” (for example, drug-trafficking, money-laundering, bribery/corruption). This is despite the fact that many of the most powerful cartels have controlled territory, attacked entire towns, carried out acts of terror, and disappeared thousands of people. The principle of complete labelling is useful in normative terms because it helps in the critical examination of a State’s prosecutorial practices, exposing problems that might otherwise be missed. In relation to the case study discussed, for example, a focus on complete labelling helps to expose the regional prosecutorial policy as either an unjustified exercise in selectivity or, at worst, an expression of collective denial. After considering certain counteracting reflexions which speak to some of the foundational anxieties of international criminal justice, the article concludes that domestic prosecutions for crimes against humanity in the context of drug-cartels may, sometimes, be justified.

Efectos de la violencia sobre las tasas de emigración interna municipal en México: 1995-2015

This article explores the relationship between the increase of violence in Mexico and the rising level of internal municipal emigration before, during, and after the so-called Mexican Drug War, which started in 2007. Through a linear regression and multinomial logistic models, it is shown that violence has had a positive and significant effect on the increase of internal emigration rates, particularly in municipalities with the highest internal emigration rates during the 2005-2010 period. In addition, the effect of violence tendsto be greater on female emigration rates compared to males. This indicates the increase of forced internal displacement in Mexico due to violence in recent years. However, more studies are needed to shed light on forced displacement and the effects of high violence levels on internal and international migration.

Are voters too afraid to tackle corruption? Survey and experimental evidence from Mexico

Are individuals in violent contexts reluctant to tackle corruption for fear of future violence? Or does violence mobilize them to fight corruption? We investigate these questions looking at the effects of fear and violence stemming from the Mexican Drug War on attitudes toward corruption. We conducted two surveys before the 2012 Mexican presidential election. First, as part of a nationally representative survey, we find a positive correlation between fear of violence and willingness to accept corruption in exchange for lower levels of violence. To disentangle causal effects, we conducted a follow-up survey experiment in Greater Mexico City where we manipulated fear over the Drug War. We find that individuals within this context are not easily scared. Those who received a common fear-inducing manipulation do not report higher levels of fear and are less willing to tolerate corruption. Conversely, we find strong evidence that individuals who have been victims of crime are more likely to report both higher levels of fear and willingness to accept corruption if it lowers violence. Our findings suggest that voters are more strategic and resilient in the face of violence than many extant theories of political behavior suggest.

Fuerza Civil: Capital Accumulation and Social Control in Nuevo León, Mexico

Policing is central to the promotion and enforcement of neoliberalization efforts across the globe. The militarization and police reform associated with the Mexican drug war must be viewed in this context. Examining Nuevo León’s highly militarized semiprivate police force, the Fuerza Civil, reveals that political-economic objectives are inextricably linked to policing reform in the Mexican border state and highlights the role of the city’s industrial elite in these processes. La vigilancia policial es fundamental para la promoción y aplicación de los esfuerzos de neoliberalización en todo el mundo. La militarización y la reforma policial asociadas a la guerra del gobierno mexicano contra las drogas deben ser consideradas en este contexto. Un análisis de la fuerza policial semiprivada y altamente militarizada de Nuevo León, conocida como la Fuerza Civil, revela que los objetivos político-económicos están inextricablemente vinculados a la reforma policial en este estado fronterizo mexicano y destaca el papel de la élite industrial de la ciudad en estos procesos.

Caught in the crossfire: reactions to persistent mortality salience

Purpose The purpose of this study is to draw on terror management theory (TMT) to explore the impact of pervasive mortality cues on consumer behaviour as a result of residing in a community ravaged by escalating violence. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative analysis of 27 in-depth interviews of consumers living in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico during the height of the Mexican drug war provides insight into their coping strategies and consumption. Findings Living under such conditions results in unrelenting mortality salience (MS), as well as the adoption of consumption-related coping strategies that can conflict with cultural worldviews and threaten self-esteem. The normalization of coping strategies severely strains worldviews. Consumers manage their ensuing intrapersonal evaluative tension by developing consumption safe havens and through identity fragmentation. Moreover, permanent proximal defences result from persistent MS. Research limitations/implications Although cross-sectional and idiosyncratic to the Mexican culture, the findings broaden TMT by suggesting that consumers facing relentless MS experience altered brand meanings and social interactions, as they were reluctant to acquire prestige brands, while indicating an increase in the value placed on relationships over possessions. Practical implications Marketers can help consumers alleviate their death-related anxiety by eliminating telemarketing campaigns, promoting online shopping, using unique customer identification numbers and investing in visible security measures such as gates, security cameras, and guards. Originality/value This exploratory study provides a preliminary theoretical framework for consumers’ reactions to persistent MS.

Effect of Actual and Perceived Violence on Internal Migration: Evidence from Mexico’s Drug War

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), violence should be considered by examining both actual and perceived crime. However, the studies related to violence and internal migration under the Mexican drug war episode focus only on one aspect of violence (perception or actual), so their conclusions rely mostly on limited evidence. This article complements previous work by examining the effects of both perceived and actual violence on interstate migration through estimation of a gravity model along three 5-year periods spanning from 2000 to 2015. Using the methods of generalized maximum entropy (to account for endogeneity) and the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition, the results show that actual violence (measured by homicide rates) does affect migration, but perceived violence explains a greater proportion of higher average migration after 2005. Since this proportion increased after 2010 and actual violence, the results suggest that there was some adaptation to the new levels of violence in the period 2010–2015.

Scarcity without Leviathan: The Violent Effects of Cocaine Supply Shortages in the Mexican Drug War

This paper asks whether scarcity increases violence in markets that lack a centralized authority. We construct a model in which, by raising prices, scarcity fosters violence. Guided by our model, we examine this effect in the Mexican cocaine trade. At a monthly frequency, scarcity created by cocaine seizures in Colombia, Mexico's main cocaine supplier, increases violence in Mexico. The effects are larger in municipalities near the United States, with multiple cartels and with strong support for PAN (the incumbent party). Between 2006 and 2009 the decline in cocaine supply from Colombia could account for 10% to 14% of the increase in violence in Mexico.

Impact of Violent Crime on Risk Aversion: Evidence from the Mexican Drug War

Whereas attitudes toward risk play an important role in many decisions over the life course, factors that affect those attitudes are not fully understood. Using longitudinal survey data collected in Mexico before and during the Mexican war on drugs, we investigate how risk attitudes change with variation in insecurity and uncertainty brought on by unprecedented changes in local-area violent crime. Exploiting the fact that the timing, virulence, and spatial distribution of changes in violent crime were unanticipated, we establish there is a rise in risk aversion spread across the entire local population as local-area violent crime increases.