Bare Life in Ciudad Juárez: Violence in a Space of Exclusion

At least 60,000 people have been killed in Mexico since former President Felipe Calderón declared war on drugs in 2006. Much of the worst violence has centered on the border city of Ciudad Juárez. Despite the death toll, the killings have received scant academic attention. A study based on field res...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Latin American perspectives 2014-03, Vol.41 (2), p.99-109
Main Author: Eisenhammer, Stephen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attention
Borders
Boundaries
Calderon Hinojosa, Felipe de Jesus
Calderon, Felipe
Cartels
Cities
Death
Drug trafficking
Drugs
Export processing zones
Exports
Females
Field work
Fieldwork
Foreign trade zones
Homicide
Illegal drug operations
Killing
Labor
Mexico
Murder
Murders & murder attempts
Narcotic drugs
Police
Political violence
Presidents
Studies
Theories
Values
Violence
Violence against women
Violent crimes
War
Women
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Summary:At least 60,000 people have been killed in Mexico since former President Felipe Calderón declared war on drugs in 2006. Much of the worst violence has centered on the border city of Ciudad Juárez. Despite the death toll, the killings have received scant academic attention. A study based on field research and using Giorgio Agamben's theory of homo sacer to construct a theoretical framework proposes that the violence is rooted in Juárez's role as an export processing zone, where cheap labor diminishes the value of life. It connects the recent drug-related violence with the murders of hundreds of women in the city during the 1990s and early 2000s. Han muerto por lo menos 60,000 personas en México desde que el anterior presidente, Felipe Calderón, declaraba una guerra contra el narcotráfico en 2006. Una gran parte de la peor violencia se ha centrado en la ciudad fronteriza de Ciudad Juárez. Pese al gran número de muertos, las matanzas han recibido poca atención académica. Un estudio basado en investigación de campo y aplicando la teoría de "homo sacer" de Giorgio Agamben propone que la violencia tiene sus raices en el hecho de que en Juárez, como zona de exportación, la mano de obra abaratada disminuye el valor de la vida. Se conecta la narcoviolencia con los homicidios de cientos de mujeres en la ciudad durante la década de 1990 y comienzos de la de 2000.
ISSN:0094-582X
1552-678X
DOI:10.1177/0094582X13509786