Mexico’s slow slide towards vigilante violence

Lancaster University
Mexico has witnessed two high-profile public lynchings within the space of two weeks. In late March, a woman suspected of murdering an eight-year-old girl in Taxco, Guerrero, was lynched by an angry mob. Then, on April 9, a policeman was beaten to death by residents of the city of Zacatelco after attempting to intervene in the lynching of two men suspected of killing a taxi driver.

These events are the latest in a spate of public lynchings in Mexico that show no sign of abating. A climate of insecurity has pitted one class of people gripped by fear to employ rough justice on a suspect at the slightest provocation. And the state appears powerless to prevent it.

Lynching, where a group of people kill someone for an alleged offence without due legal process or judicial trial, has an established history in the Americas. It arose in situations where communities lived far from the established judicial norms and legalities.

Without having an authorised legal arbitrator to address questions of wrongdoing, they often embarked upon communally sanctioned violent justice. Fear, prejudice and unaccountability motivated these communities to get rid of an undesirable person through mob-orchestrated killing.

Lynching has never enjoyed legal legitimacy. Once a common practice in Mexico, it was forbidden as the state began to consolidate itself. What is worrying, however, is the prevalence of lynching within modern Mexico where there are clear legal norms that stipulate what is permissible and what is not.

A group of people dressed in white standing around a coffin covered in flowers.
Family and friends bid farewell to Camila Gomez Ortega, eight, who was murdered in Taxco, Guerrero, on March 29. Jose Luis de la Cruz / EPA
A history of lynching in Mexico
Mexico has always been plagued by incidents of lynching. During the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917), several political figures as well as those suspected of anti-state activities were lynched in the name of state consolidation.

One would have expected this phenomenon to disappear when Mexico emerged from those tumultuous years. Yet lynching remained a constant presence in the post-revolutionary period. Research suggests that the processes of state formation, mythical beliefs, and perceptions of crime and punishment have all contributed to shaping Mexican’s understanding of lynching as a legitimate form of justice.

In Mexico, lynching typically took place in isolated rural communities where justice is slow to arrive or never arrives at all. But, having once been dismissed by Mexico’s political elites as an occurrence committed by people that were only “partly civilised”, lynching is fast becoming an urban phenomenon as well.

The vast majority of Lancaster University
Mexico has witnessed two high-profile public lynchings within the space of two weeks. In late March, a woman suspected of murdering an eight-year-old girl in Taxco, Guerrero, was lynched by an angry mob. Then, on April 9, a policeman was beaten to death by residents of the city of Zacatelco after attempting to intervene in the lynching of two men suspected of killing a taxi driver

These events are the latest in a spate of public lynchings in Mexico that show no sign of abating. A climate of insecurity has pitted one class of people gripped by fear to employ rough justice on a suspect at the slightest provocation. And the state appears powerless to prevent i

Lynching, where a group of people kill someone for an alleged offence without due legal process or judicial trial, has an established history in the Americas. It arose in situations where communities lived far from the established judicial norms and legalitie

Without having an authorised legal arbitrator to address questions of wrongdoing, they often embarked upon communally sanctioned violent justice. Fear, prejudice and unaccountability motivated these communities to get rid of an undesirable person through mob-orchestrated killin

Lynching has never enjoyed legal legitimacy. Once a common practice in Mexico, it was forbidden as the state began to consolidate itself. What is worrying, however, is the prevalence of lynching within modern Mexico where there are clear legal norms that stipulate what is permissible and what is no

A group of people dressed in white standing around a coffin covered in flower
Family and friends bid farewell to Camila Gomez Ortega, eight, who was murdered in Taxco, Guerrero, on March 29. Jose Luis de la Cruz / EP
A history of lynching in Mexic
Mexico has always been plagued by incidents of lynching. During the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917), several political figures as well as those suspected of anti-state activities were lynched in the name of state consolidation

One would have expected this phenomenon to disappear when Mexico emerged from those tumultuous years. Yet lynching remained a constant presence in the post-revolutionary period. Research suggests that the processes of state formation, mythical beliefs, and perceptions of crime and punishment have all contributed to shaping Mexican’s understanding of lynching as a legitimate form of justic

In Mexico, lynching typically took place in isolated rural communities where justice is slow to arrive or never arrives at all. But, having once been dismissed by Mexico’s political elites as an occurrence committed by people that were only “partly civilised”, lynching is fast becoming an urban phenomenon as wel

The vast majority of lynchingLancaster University
Mexico has witnessed two high-profile public lynchings within the space of two weeks. In late March, a woman suspected of murdering an eight-year-old girl in Taxco, Guerrero, was lynched by an angry mob. Then, on April 9, a policeman was beaten to death by residents of the city of Zacatelco after attempting to intervene in the lynching of two men suspected of killing a taxi driver.

These events are the latest in a spate of public lynchings in Mexico that show no sign of abating. A climate of insecurity has pitted one class of people gripped by fear to employ rough justice on a suspect at the slightest provocation. And the state appears powerless to prevent it.

Lynching, where a group of people kill someone for an alleged offence without due legal process or judicial trial, has an established history in the Americas. It arose in situations where communities lived far from the established judicial norms and legalities.

Without having an authorised legal arbitrator to address questions of wrongdoing, they often embarked upon communally sanctioned violent justice. Fear, prejudice and unaccountability motivated these communities to get rid of an undesirable person through mob-orchestrated killing.

Lynching has never enjoyed legal legitimacy. Once a common practice in Mexico, it was forbidden as the state began to consolidate itself. What is worrying, however, is the prevalence of lynching within modern Mexico where there are clear legal norms that stipulate what is permissible and what is not.

A group of people dressed in white standing around a coffin covered in flowers.
Family and friends bid farewell to Camila Gomez Ortega, eight, who was murdered in Taxco, Guerrero, on March 29. Jose Luis de la Cruz / EPA
A history of lynching in Mexico
Mexico has always been plagued by incidents of lynching. During the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917), several political figures as well as those suspected of anti-state activities were lynched in the name of state consolidation.

One would have expected this phenomenon to disappear when Mexico emerged from those tumultuous years. Yet lynching remained a constant presence in the post-revolutionary period. Research suggests that the processes of state formation, mythical beliefs, and perceptions of crime and punishment have all contributed to shaping Mexican’s understanding of lynching as a legitimate form of justice.

In Mexico, lynching typically took place in isolated rural communities where justice is slow to arrive or never arrives at all. But, having once been dismissed by Mexico’s political elites as an occurrence committed by people that were only “partly civilised”, lynching is fast becoming an urban phenomenon as well.

The vast maLancaster University
Mexico has witnessed two high-profile public lynchings within the space of two weeks. In late March, a woman suspected of murdering an eight-year-old girl in Taxco, Guerrero, was lynched by an angry mob. Then, on April 9, a policeman was beaten to death by residents of the city of Zacatelco after attempting to intervene in the lynching of two men suspected of killing a taxi driver.

These events are the latest in a spate of public lynchings in Mexico that show no sign of abating. A climate of insecurity has pitted one class of people gripped by fear to employ rough justice on a suspect at the slightest provocation. And the state appears powerless to prevent it.

Lynching, where a group of people kill someone for an alleged offence without due legal process or judicial trial, has an established history in the Americas. It arose in situations where communities lived far from the established judicial norms and legalities.

Without having an authorised legal arbitrator to address questions of wrongdoing, they often embarked upon communally sanctioned violent justice. Fear, prejudice and unaccountability motivated these communities to get rid of an undesirable person through mob-orchestrated killing.

Lynching has never enjoyed legal legitimacy. Once a common practice in Mexico, it was forbidden as the state began to consolidate itself. What is worrying, however, is the prevalence of lynching within modern Mexico where there are clear legal norms that stipulate what is permissible and what is not.

A group of people dressed in white standing around a coffin covered in flowers.
Family and friends bid farewell to Camila Gomez Ortega, eight, who was murdered in Taxco, Guerrero, on March 29. Jose Luis de la Cruz / EPA
A history of lynching in Mexico
Mexico has always been plagued by incidents of lynching. During the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917), several political figures as well as those suspected of anti-state activities were lynched in the name of state consolidation.

One would have expected this phenomenon to disappear when Mexico emerged from those tumultuous years. Yet lynching remained a constant presence in the post-revolutionary period. Research suggests that the processes of state formation, mythical beliefs, and perceptions of crime and punishment have all contributed to shaping Mexican’s understanding of lynching as a legitimate form of justice.

In Mexico, lynching typically took place in isolated rural communities where justice is slow to arrive or never arrives at all. But, having once been dismissed by Mexico’s political elites as an occurrence committed by people that were only “partly civilised”, lynching is fast becoming an urban phenomenon as well.

The vast maLancaster University
Mexico has witnessed two high-profile public lynchings within the space of two weeks. In late March, a woman suspected of murdering an eight-year-old girl in Taxco, Guerrero, was lynched by an angry mob. Then, on April 9, a policeman was beaten to death by residents of the city of Zacatelco after attempting to intervene in the lynching of two men suspected of killing a taxi driver.

These events are the latest in a spate of public lynchings in Mexico that show no sign of abating. A climate of insecurity has pitted one class of people gripped by fear to employ rough justice on a suspect at the slightest provocation. And the state appears powerless to prevent it.

Lynching, where a group of people kill someone for an alleged offence without due legal process or judicial trial, has an established history in the Americas. It arose in situations where communities lived far from the established judicial norms and legalities.

Without having an authorised legal arbitrator to address questions of wrongdoing, they often embarked upon communally sanctioned violent justice. Fear, prejudice and unaccountability motivated these communities to get rid of an undesirable person through mob-orchestrated killing.

Lynching has never enjoyed legal legitimacy. Once a common practice in Mexico, it was forbidden as the state began to consolidate itself. What is worrying, however, is the prevalence of lynching within modern Mexico where there are clear legal norms that stipulate what is permissible and what is not.

A group of people dressed in white standing around a coffin covered in flowers.
Family and friends bid farewell to Camila Gomez Ortega, eight, who was murdered in Taxco, Guerrero, on March 29. Jose Luis de la Cruz / EPA
A history of lynching in Mexico
Mexico has always been plagued by incidents of lynching. During the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917), several political figures as well as those suspected of anti-state activities were lynched in the name of state consolidation.

One would have expected this phenomenon to disappear when Mexico emerged from those tumultuous years. Yet lynching remained a constant presence in the post-revolutionary period. Research suggests that the processes of state formation, mythical beliefs, and perceptions of crime and punishment have all contributed to shaping Mexican’s understanding of lynching as a legitimate form of justice.

In Mexico, lynching typically took place in isolated rural communities where justice is slow to arrive or never arrives at all. But, having once been dismissed by Mexico’s political elites as an occurrence committed by people that were only “partly civilised”, lynching is fast becoming an urban phenomenon as well.

The vast maLancaster University
Mexico has witnessed two high-profile public lynchings within the space of two weeks. In late March, a woman suspected of murdering an eight-year-old girl in Taxco, Guerrero, was lynched by an angry mob. Then, on April 9, a policeman was beaten to death by residents of the city of Zacatelco after attempting to intervene in the lynching of two men suspected of killing a taxi driver.

These events are the latest in a spate of public lynchings in Mexico that show no sign of abating. A climate of insecurity has pitted one class of people gripped by fear to employ rough justice on a suspect at the slightest provocation. And the state appears powerless to prevent it.

Lynching, where a group of people kill someone for an alleged offence without due legal process or judicial trial, has an established history in the Americas. It arose in situations where communities lived far from the established judicial norms and legalities.

Without having an authorised legal arbitrator to address questions of wrongdoing, they often embarked upon communally sanctioned violent justice. Fear, prejudice and unaccountability motivated these communities to get rid of an undesirable person through mob-orchestrated killing.

Lynching has never enjoyed legal legitimacy. Once a common practice in Mexico, it was forbidden as the state began to consolidate itself. What is worrying, however, is the prevalence of lynching within modern Mexico where there are clear legal norms that stipulate what is permissible and what is not.

A group of people dressed in white standing around a coffin covered in flowers.
Family and friends bid farewell to Camila Gomez Ortega, eight, who was murdered in Taxco, Guerrero, on March 29. Jose Luis de la Cruz / EPA
A history of lynching in Mexico
Mexico has always been plagued by incidents of lynching. During the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917), several political figures as well as those suspected of anti-state activities were lynched in the name of state consolidation.

One would have expected this phenomenon to disappear when Mexico emerged from those tumultuous years. Yet lynching remained a constant presence in the post-revolutionary period. Research suggests that the processes of state formation, mythical beliefs, and perceptions of crime and punishment have all contributed to shaping Mexican’s understanding of lynching as a legitimate form of justice.

In Mexico, lynching typically took place in isolated rural communities where justice is slow to arrive or never arrives at all. But, having once been dismissed by Mexico’s political elites as an occurrence committed by people that were only “partly civilised”, lynching is fast becoming an urban phenomenon as well.

The vast maLancaster University
Mexico has witnessed two high-profile public lynchings within the space of two weeks. In late March, a woman suspected of murdering an eight-year-old girl in Taxco, Guerrero, was lynched by an angry mob. Then, on April 9, a policeman was beaten to death by residents of the city of Zacatelco after attempting to intervene in the lynching of two men suspected of killing a taxi driver.

These events are the latest in a spate of public lynchings in Mexico that show no sign of abating. A climate of insecurity has pitted one class of people gripped by fear to employ rough justice on a suspect at the slightest provocation. And the state appears powerless to prevent it.

Lynching, where a group of people kill someone for an alleged offence without due legal process or judicial trial, has an established history in the Americas. It arose in situations where communities lived far from the established judicial norms and legalities.

Without having an authorised legal arbitrator to address questions of wrongdoing, they often embarked upon communally sanctioned violent justice. Fear, prejudice and unaccountability motivated these communities to get rid of an undesirable person through mob-orchestrated killing.

Lynching has never enjoyed legal legitimacy. Once a common practice in Mexico, it was forbidden as the state began to consolidate itself. What is worrying, however, is the prevalence of lynching within modern Mexico where there are clear legal norms that stipulate what is permissible and what is not.

A group of people dressed in white standing around a coffin covered in flowers.
Family and friends bid farewell to Camila Gomez Ortega, eight, who was murdered in Taxco, Guerrero, on March 29. Jose Luis de la Cruz / EPA
A history of lynching in Mexico
Mexico has always been plagued by incidents of lynching. During the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917), several political figures as well as those suspected of anti-state activities were lynched in the name of state consolidation.

One would have expected this phenomenon to disappear when Mexico emerged from those tumultuous years. Yet lynching remained a constant presence in the post-revolutionary period. Research suggests that the processes of state formation, mythical beliefs, and perceptions of crime and punishment have all contributed to shaping Mexican’s understanding of lynching as a legitimate form of justice.

In Mexico, lynching typically took place in isolated rural communities where justice is slow to arrive or never arrives at all. But, having once been dismissed by Mexico’s political elites as an occurrence committed by people that were only “partly civilised”, lynching is fast becoming an urban phenomenon as well.

The vast maLancaster University
Mexico has witnessed two high-profile public lynchings within the space of two weeks. In late March, a woman suspected of murdering an eight-year-old girl in Taxco, Guerrero, was lynched by an angry mob. Then, on April 9, a policeman was beaten to death by residents of the city of Zacatelco after attempting to intervene in the lynching of two men suspected of killing a taxi driver.

These events are the latest in a spate of public lynchings in Mexico that show no sign of abating. A climate of insecurity has pitted one class of people gripped by fear to employ rough justice on a suspect at the slightest provocation. And the state appears powerless to prevent it.

Lynching, where a group of people kill someone for an alleged offence without due legal process or judicial trial, has an established history in the Americas. It arose in situations where communities lived far from the established judicial norms and legalities.

Without having an authorised legal arbitrator to address questions of wrongdoing, they often embarked upon communally sanctioned violent justice. Fear, prejudice and unaccountability motivated these communities to get rid of an undesirable person through mob-orchestrated killing.

Lynching has never enjoyed legal legitimacy. Once a common practice in Mexico, it was forbidden as the state began to consolidate itself. What is worrying, however, is the prevalence of lynching within modern Mexico where there are clear legal norms that stipulate what is permissible and what is not.

A group of people dressed in white standing around a coffin covered in flowers.
Family and friends bid farewell to Camila Gomez Ortega, eight, who was murdered in Taxco, Guerrero, on March 29. Jose Luis de la Cruz / EPA
A history of lynching in Mexico
Mexico has always been plagued by incidents of lynching. During the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917), several political figures as well as those suspected of anti-state activities were lynched in the name of state consolidation.

One would have expected this phenomenon to disappear when Mexico emerged from those tumultuous years. Yet lynching remained a constant presence in the post-revolutionary period. Research suggests that the processes of state formation, mythical beliefs, and perceptions of crime and punishment have all contributed to shaping Mexican’s understanding of lynching as a legitimate form of justice.

In Mexico, lynching typically took place in isolated rural communities where justice is slow to arrive or never arrives at all. But, having once been dismissed by Mexico’s political elites as an occurrence committed by people that were only “partly civilised”, lynching is fast becoming an urban phenomenon as well.

The vast maLancaster University
Mexico has witnessed two high-profile public lynchings within the space of two weeks. In late March, a woman suspected of murdering an eight-year-old girl in Taxco, Guerrero, was lynched by an angry mob. Then, on April 9, a policeman was beaten to death by residents of the city of Zacatelco after attempting to intervene in the lynching of two men suspected of killing a taxi driver.

These events are the latest in a spate of public lynchings in Mexico that show no sign of abating. A climate of insecurity has pitted one class of people gripped by fear to employ rough justice on a suspect at the slightest provocation. And the state appears powerless to prevent it.

Lynching, where a group of people kill someone for an alleged offence without due legal process or judicial trial, has an established history in the Americas. It arose in situations where communities lived far from the established judicial norms and legalities.

Without having an authorised legal arbitrator to address questions of wrongdoing, they often embarked upon communally sanctioned violent justice. Fear, prejudice and unaccountability motivated these communities to get rid of an undesirable person through mob-orchestrated killing.

Lynching has never enjoyed legal legitimacy. Once a common practice in Mexico, it was forbidden as the state began to consolidate itself. What is worrying, however, is the prevalence of lynching within modern Mexico where there are clear legal norms that stipulate what is permissible and what is not.

A group of people dressed in white standing around a coffin covered in flowers.
Family and friends bid farewell to Camila Gomez Ortega, eight, who was murdered in Taxco, Guerrero, on March 29. Jose Luis de la Cruz / EPA
A history of lynching in Mexico
Mexico has always been plagued by incidents of lynching. During the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917), several political figures as well as those suspected of anti-state activities were lynched in the name of state consolidation.

One would have expected this phenomenon to disappear when Mexico emerged from those tumultuous years. Yet lynching remained a constant presence in the post-revolutionary period. Research suggests that the processes of state formation, mythical beliefs, and perceptions of crime and punishment have all contributed to shaping Mexican’s understanding of lynching as a legitimate form of justice.

In Mexico, lynching typically took place in isolated rural communities where justice is slow to arrive or never arrives at all. But, having once been dismissed by Mexico’s political elites as an occurrence committed by people that were only “partly civilised”, lynching is fast becoming an urban phenomenon as well.

The vast maLancaster University
Mexico has witnessed two high-profile public lynchings within the space of two weeks. In late March, a woman suspected of murdering an eight-year-old girl in Taxco, Guerrero, was lynched by an angry mob. Then, on April 9, a policeman was beaten to death by residents of the city of Zacatelco after attempting to intervene in the lynching of two men suspected of killing a taxi driver.

These events are the latest in a spate of public lynchings in Mexico that show no sign of abating. A climate of insecurity has pitted one class of people gripped by fear to employ rough justice on a suspect at the slightest provocation. And the state appears powerless to prevent it.

Lynching, where a group of people kill someone for an alleged offence without due legal process or judicial trial, has an established history in the Americas. It arose in situations where communities lived far from the established judicial norms and legalities.

Without having an authorised legal arbitrator to address questions of wrongdoing, they often embarked upon communally sanctioned violent justice. Fear, prejudice and unaccountability motivated these communities to get rid of an undesirable person through mob-orchestrated killing.

Lynching has never enjoyed legal legitimacy. Once a common practice in Mexico, it was forbidden as the state began to consolidate itself. What is worrying, however, is the prevalence of lynching within modern Mexico where there are clear legal norms that stipulate what is permissible and what is not.

A group of people dressed in white standing around a coffin covered in flowers.
Family and friends bid farewell to Camila Gomez Ortega, eight, who was murdered in Taxco, Guerrero, on March 29. Jose Luis de la Cruz / EPA
A history of lynching in Mexico
Mexico has always been plagued by incidents of lynching. During the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917), several political figures as well as those suspected of anti-state activities were lynched in the name of state consolidation.

One would have expected this phenomenon to disappear when Mexico emerged from those tumultuous years. Yet lynching remained a constant presence in the post-revolutionary period. Research suggests that the processes of state formation, mythical beliefs, and perceptions of crime and punishment have all contributed to shaping Mexican’s understanding of lynching as a legitimate form of justice.

In Mexico, lynching typically took place in isolated rural communities where justice is slow to arrive or never arrives at all. But, having once been dismissed by Mexico’s political elites as an occurrence committed by people that were only “partly civilised”, lynching is fast becoming an urban phenomenon as well.

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