Organized crime groups (OCGs) in Mexico are some of the most violent and sophisticated active criminal cells. The conflict with the Mexican state, commonly understood to have begun in 2006, has resulted in approximately 400,000 casualties. The focus of this research is the discourse produced by Mexico’s OCGs. The tropes within the discourse projected by these groups present an ominous threat to the legitimacy of the Mexican state. OCGs operate, largely, in the rural areas of Mexico, those with populations that have been, in their eyes, long forgotten by the central government. These groups establish a discourse in which the state is weak, corrupt, and a distant outsider in their communities. Further, the populations of these regions should invest their trust and loyalties to the OCG rather than the state. This paper utilizes available theoretical frameworks to trace the parameters of OCG discourse to better understand how it functionally serves these groups and how it serves to undermine the legitimacy of the Mexican state. In doing so, this paper draws on the teachings of several scholars of the region from various diverse backgrounds. This paper also utilizes data collected from several organizations measuring the mood of the Mexican people surrounding their relationship with their government. Finally, this paper uses available examples of discourse through the works of prominent journalists who work in Mexico. This paper concludes that while these groups do not have a direct objective to replace the state, the discourse they produce to legitimize their activities is expansive in scope and successfully devalues the popular perception of the state.

Related Keywords

Mexico , Spain , New York , United States , Mexico City , Distrito Federal , Whitehouse , District Of Columbia , Gurrea , Comunidad Autonoma De Aragon , Berkeley , California , Sinaloa , Tabasco , United Kingdom , Vienna , Wien , Austria , Georgetown University , Paris , France General , France , Washington , Spanish , American , British , Mexican , Mexicans , America , Arji Ouweneel , Eric Hobsbawm , Pedro Infante , Jorge Castan , Luis Pardo Veiras , Sol Prendido , Mary Beth Sheridan , Daniel Weisz Argomedo , Jose Nava , Shaul Schwarz , Howard Campbell , William Calvo Quiro , Jenna Bowley , Johnp Sullivan , Santa Muerte , John Longmire , Ioan Grillo , Alma Guillermoprieto , Pedro Garza Garci , Robertj Bunker , Jalisco Nueva Generaci , Xavier Guerra , Arjji Ouweneel , Jalisco Nueva Generacio , Michelle Keck , Fondation Maison , Arturo Angel , Pablo Escobar Medell , Nuevo Leo , Sylvia Longmire , John Sullivan , Phil Williams , Edgar Quintero , Pabloa Baisotti , Guadalupe Correa Cabrera , Robin Hoodism , Steven Dudley , Nathanp Jones , Routledge , Revolution Is Afraid Berkeley Center , Young , Woodrow Wilson International Center , Washington Post , Cartel Humanitarian Aid Small Wars Journal , University Of Maine , Catholic Church , Bloomsbury Publishing , Sullivan Cartel Evolution At , Cartel Gang Insurgencies , Oxford University Press , Manchester University , Cartel Evolution , Archaic Forms Of Social Movement , Caribbean Transparency International , United Nations Office On Drugs , Jalisco New Generation Cartel , Pantheon Books , World Affairs , Honors College , Oxford University , Central Intelligence Agency , Cartel Strength Reuters , Catholic Region Pew Research Center , House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee , Organized Crime Groups , Mexican Revolutionary War , Cristero War , Mexican Foreign Secretary Jorge Castan , Mexican Dirty War , Robert Bunker , Blog Del Narco , Insight Crime , Pablo Escobar , Corruption Perceptions Index , Historian Eric Hobsbawm , Bukanas De Culiaca , Visible Violence , San Pedro Garza Garci , Beth Sheridan , Government Control Threatened , Criminal Groups , Why Mexican Drug Trafficking , Just Organized Crime , Street Gangs , Part One , Drug Cartels , Drug War , Organized Crime , Social Banditry , Information Operations , Wars Journal , Drug Wars , Criminal Insurgency , Mexican Cartels , Criminal Enclaves , Global Security , Urban Guerrillas , Criminal Insurgents , Latin America , Berkeley Review , Latin American Studies , Behind Mexico , Peasant Revolution , Latin American , Primitive Rebels , Archaic Forms , Social Movement , Manchester University Press , Inside Mexico , Cartel Strength , Corruption Barometer , Global Study , United Nations Office , Nacional De Calidad , Impacto Gubernamental , Nacional De Estadi , Oseguera Video Message , Weisz Argomedo , Cartel Humanitarian Aid , Docurama Films , Narco Cultura , Small Wars , People Undocumented Saints , Widespread Change , Historically Catholic Region , Narco Messages Reflect Weakness , State Institutions ,