Murder and Politics in Mexico: Political Killings in the Partido de la Revolucion Democratica and its Consequences (Studies of Organized Crime Book 10)

Murder and Politics in Mexico studies the causes of political killings in Mexico’s liberalization-democratization within the larger context of political repression. Mexico’s democratization process has entailed a little known, but highly significant cost of human lives in pre- and post-election violence. The majority of these crimes remain in a state of impunity: in other words, no person had been charged with the crime and/or no investigation of it had occurred. This has several consequences for Mexican politics: when the level of violence is extreme and when political killings are involved that are systematic and pervasive, this could indicate a real fracture in the democratic system. This book analyzes several dimensions regarding impunity and political crime, more specifically, the political killings of members of the PRD in the post-1988 period in Mexico. The main argument proposed in this book is that impunity for political killings is a structured system requiring one central precondition, namely the failure of the legal system to function as a system of restraint for killings. Dr Schatz’s research finds that political assassinations are indeed rational, targeted actions but they do not occur within an institutional vacuum. They are caused by multiple, interacting factors that involve the political, legal and criminal justice systems. As a form of interpersonal violence, political assassination involves direct or implied authorization from political leaders, the availability of assassins for hire and the willingness of some political leaders to utilize them against political opponents, and violent interactions between political parties combined with judicial system ineffectiveness. A corrupt legal system facilitates the use of political assassinations and explains the persistence of impunity for political murder over time. To reduce political violence in the transition to electoral democracy, specific institutional conditions, namely a structured system of impunity for murder, must be overcome. Cover 1 STUDIES OF ORGANIZED CRIME Volume 10 2 Murder and Politics in Mexico 4 ISBN 9781441980670 5 Acknowledgments 6 Contents 8 List of Figures 14 List of Tables 16 Chapter 1: Introduction 18 Political Killings as a Specific Form of Political Repression 19 The Political Killing of PRD Members in Mexico 19 Chapter 2: Mexico’s Liberalization–Democratization in Context 24 The Problem 24 Overview of the Mexican Political and Legal System 27 Origins 27 1988–2010: A Brief Overview of the Emergence and Electoral Vicissitudes of the PRD 29 The 1977 Electoral Reforms 29 The Emergence of the FDN-PRD (1987–1988) 30 After the 1988 Presidential Election 31 Impunity: A Consistent Theme Across Sexenios 33 Impunity, Crime, and Drug-Related Assassinations 34 Chapter 3: Theoretical Dimensions of a Structured System of Impunity for Political Killings 40 Democratization and Political Repression in Global Perspective 40 How Much Violence? 40 Regime Change Toward Regimes with Deficits in Accountability 41 The Mexican Case in Perspective 42 A Structured System of Impunity for Political Killings 44 Democratization and Political Repression 47 Democratization, Political Protest, and Political Repression 48 Accountable Legal Institutions and Democratization 49 Cause or Effect? 49 Accountability and the Rule of Law 50 Impunity 51 Impunity as a Structured System 51 Political Assassination as a Calculated Strategy Embedded in Interparty Relations 52 Political Party Strategies: PAN, PRD, PRI 52 Social Origins and Political Activism 54 Puebla 54 Social Origins 55 Political Activism and PRD Victims in Puebla 59 Political Assassination in Mexico: A Calculated Strategy 60 Chapter 4: Authorizing Political Killing in Mexico: The Importance of a Destructive Social Milieu 64 Introduction 64 The Mexican Dynamic of Political–Electoral Homicide 65 After 1988: A Difficult Time for the PRD 65 Methods 66 Part I: The Activation of Historical Conditions for Destructive Behavior 66 The Role of Leadership Authorization 66 Selective Political Assassinations 68 Engagement in Everyday Social Activities 71 Rationalization for Political Assassination 72 Authorization for Destruction Through Independent Social Mechanisms 74 Part II: Political Assassination: Victims and Perpetrators in Cross-sectional Analysis 77 Political Assassinations as Deliberate Targeting 78 Cover-up/Authorization for Assassination 79 Who Kills? Who Gains from These Murders? 82 Killings by Known PRI Members and Hired Guns Generally Linked to a PRI Leader(s) 82 PRI Members 82 Hired Guns 83 Killing Federal, State, and Local PRD Politicians 84 The Political Murder of Perredistas by “Unknowns”18 85 The Killings by Police 86 Are There Alternative Explanations for These Murders? 89 Accidents or Revenge Homicides? 89 Police Inefficiency? 90 Conclusion 91 End Notes 126 Chapter 5: Disarming the Legal System: Impunity for the Political Murder of Dissidents in Mexico 132 Introduction 132 Political Killings in the Mexican Context 133 The Problem of Political Assassination 133 Crime Without Punishment 134 The CNDH Case Reports: A Detailed Analysis 135 A Failure to Apprehend Suspects and to Adequately Investigate Crime 139 The Failure to Apprehend Convicted State Officials, Policemen, and “Hired Guns” 140 The Failure to Apprehend Suspected and Convicted Criminals 142 The Failure to Adequately Investigate Crimes 147 Impunity for High-Impact Crime 151 Perpetrators and the Paradox of Lawlessness 154 Chapter 6: Impunity and Electoral Challenges from Below: The Killing Fields of Guerrero 160 Introduction 160 Regional Variations in the Patterning of the Political Killing of PRD Members Across Mexican States 161 A Broader Pattern of Social Conflict Between Authoritarian Incumbents and the Opposition 163 Violence in Guerrero: Postelectoral Violence and Political Assassination (1990–1994) 165 Contested Municipal Elections, Elite Impunity and Political Killings (1988–1990) 165 Continuing Political Violence and Political Repression (1991–1994) 168 Petatlán 170 Michoacán and Guerrero Compared 173 Violence in Guerrero (1994–1997): The Intersection of Political–Electoral Conflicts with Violence Caused by Paramilitary Forces 174 Radicalization of Peasant Perredistas: The PRD and the 1995 Aguas Blancas Massacre (Costa Grande) 174 1996–1997: A New Administration, More Politically Related Deaths (Various Regions) 176 State Violence and Mobilized Indigenous Peoples (1996–1997) (Costa Chica) 177 After the EPR’s Appearance: More Perpetrators, Similar Political Murders (1997–1998) (Costa Grande) 178 Violence in Guerrero After 2000: Ayutla Municipality (Costa Chica and Beyond) 182 The Multiple Dimensions of Impunity for PoliticalMurder in Guerrero 186 The Failure of Prosecution 187 How Criminal Elements Exploit Resource Deficits Within Criminal Justice System to Ensure Impunity for Political Assassination 188 Conclusion 190 Chapter 7: Impunity for Political Killing in a Comparative Perspective 194 Introduction 194 Political Competition and Degree of Electoral Threat in Mexican Municipalities 195 The PRD’s Challenge to Rural and Urban Cacique Rule 195 Why Did Killings Occur in Some Municipalities But Not Others? 196 Description of Municipal Data and Statistical Model 196 Increased Electoral Competition as a Significant Risk Factorfor Political Assassination 197 Impunity from Prosecution: Stable over Time 199 A Comparative Pattern of Impunity 201 Impunity as an Intermediary Dimension 205 Practices that Diminish the Likelihood of Political Killings During Liberalization–Democratization Processes 207 The Extension of Political and Civil Rights: A Distinctive Time-Line 209 Coda: Remembering and Forgetting the Dead 211 Conclusion 214 End Notes 214 Chapter 8: Conclusions 218 Why Does Impunity Persist Despite a Transitionto Electoral Democracy? 220 Nonviolent Political Change and “Hard” Legal Systems 222 Appendix: Political Murders of PRD Members, 1994 226 Chiapas 226 Guerrero 230 Jalisco 231 Michoacán 231 Morelos 232 Nuevo Leon 232 Oaxaca 232 Sinaloa 236 Veracruz 236 Zacatecas 237 A Few Revenge PRD Killings of PRI Members After 2000 (Chiapas)2 237 End Notes 239 Bibliography 240 Subject Index 256 1441980679,9781441980670 Springer 2011 Murder and Politics in Mexico studies the causes of political killings in Mexico’s liberalization-democratization within the larger context of political repression. Mexico’s democratization process has entailed a little known but highly significant cost of human lives in pre- and post-election violence. The majority of these crimes remain in a state of impunity: in other words, no person had been charged with the crime and/or no investigation of it had occurred. This has several consequences for Mexican politics: when the level of violence is extreme and when political killings that are systematic and invasive are involved, this could indicate a real fracture in the democratic system. This book analyzes several dimensions regarding impunity and political crime, more specifically, the political killings of members of the PRD in the post-1988 period in Mexico. The main argument proposed in this book is that impunity for political killings is a structured system requiring one central precondition, namely the failure of the legal system to function as a system of restraint for killings. Dr Schatz’s research finds that political assassinations are indeed rational, targeted actions but they do not occur within an institutional vacuum. Political assassinations are calculated strategies of action aimed at eliminating political rivals. As a form of interpersonal violence, political assassination involves direct or implied authorization from political leaders, the availability of assassins for hire and the willingness of some political leaders to utilize them against political opponents, and violent interactions between political parties combined with judicial system ineffectiveness. A corrupt legal system facilitates the use of political assassination and explains the persistence of impunity for political murder over time. To reduce political violence in the transition to electoral democracy, specific institutional conditions, namely a structured system of impunity for murder, must be overcome. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introduction....Pages 1-5 Mexico’s Liberalization–Democratization in Context....Pages 7-22 Theoretical Dimensions of a Structured System of Impunity for Political Killings....Pages 23-46 Authorizing Political Killing in Mexico: The Importance of a Destructive Social Milieu....Pages 47-113 Disarming the Legal System: Impunity for the Political Murder of Dissidents in Mexico....Pages 115-142 Impunity and Electoral Challenges from Below: The Killing Fields of Guerrero....Pages 143-176 Impunity for Political Killing in a Comparative Perspective....Pages 177-199 Conclusions....Pages 201-207 Back Matter....Pages 209-243