Citizens beyond corruption and crime: The case of Mexico

Dr. Trevor Stack (CISRUL Director), Irene Álvarez, Irán Guerrero, Denisse Román and Ariadna Sánchez (visiting postdoctoral researchers from Mexico) presented findings of their ESRC-funded project involving seven ethnographic researchers in Michoacán, a Mexican region heavily affected by criminal violence and corruption.

Researchers and policy-makers have called for “citizen participation” or “civil society” to help address issues of crime-related violence and institutions that are not only corrupt but also ineffective. Yet it is not clear what scope there is for citizens and civil society to play a role, especially from within the most affected contexts. Although there are now literature on criminal organisation, political corruption and related violence, as well as on state initiatives and on the role of national and international Civil Society Organizations, there is little research on movements and organizations operating within the most violent regions.