Semantics of Violence: Revolt and Political Assassination in Mexico (Cultural Sociology)

This book describes three impactful cases of political violence that broke out in Mexico in 1994, pointing to an important juncture in Mexican political development. At that point, the patrimonial order centered on the PRI and the Mexican presidency entered a momentous crisis that is still ongoing after a quarter of a century and caused the patrimonial order and the civil order to compete over Mexican public life. Such competition, in turn, unfolds at the cultural level on the terrain of three semantics of political violence that shape public debates over violence in Mexico. Ultimately, this book sheds light over the refraction of patrimonial and civil attributions across such cultural terrains. Foreword Acknowledgments Praise for Semantics of Violence Contents List of Tables Chapter 1: Introduction References Chapter 2: The Civil Sphere The Civil Sphere and Its Institutions Communicative Institutions Regulative Institutions Civil and Non-civil Spheres: Boundary Relations The Patrimonial Camp Patrimonial and Civil Structures: The Meaning of Violence References Chapter 3: The Mexican Civil Sphere and the Patrimonial Code Economic Liberalization and Authoritarianism A Growing Civil Sphere At the End of the Sexenio The Semantics of Violence in Mexico References Chapter 4: The Indigenous Revolt First Act: The Zapatista Revolt Defying Patrimonialism Group Interests Ideological Manipulation The Civil Character of the Indigenous Violence Resistance in the Face of Exclusion and Domination A Democratic Project Second Act: The Dialogue Proposal The Future of Patrimonialism The Presidency’s Material Strength The Symbolic Force of the Presidency The Future of Democracy Toward an Agreement Between Peers The Opportunity for Democracy Patrimonialism and Democracy References Chapter 5: A Succession Under Attack The Candidate’s Assassination Patrimonialism in its Labyrinth Dark Forces and Group Interests Intellectuals of Violence and the Ideological Dispute for the Nation The Corrosion of Civil Morals The Propagation of Violence Leftist and Neoliberal Ideologies The New Candidate Rebuilding Patrimonialism Democratic Authoritarianism Reclaiming Authority Civil Alternatives Authoritarian Persistence The Symbolic Death of Patrimonialism Continuity and Rupture References Chapter 6: Violence Within the Party The Assassination of a Political Operator Strife Within the Institutionalized Revolution Re-establishing the Customary Rules of Law and Order Old and New Patrimonial Ideas The Decomposition of Politics Revenge and Score-Settling The End of the Post-Revolutionary Regime? The Ex-President’s Hunger Strike The Presidential Office Challenged Between Democracy and Authoritarianism Between the Patrimonial and the Civil Paths References Chapter 7: Conclusion Index