The 3x1 Program for Migrants and Vigilante Groups in Contemporary Mexico

• In Event: 4360 - Mobilizing for and Against Violence in Pursuit of Social Justice

Abstract

What explains the emergence of armed vigilante groups in Mexico over the past decade? This article links the recent emergence of armed vigilante organizations to United States-Mexico migration. Drawing on an original dataset collected from 2,243 Mexican municipalities between 2002 and 2013, we find that collective remittances, specifically those through which migrant organizations called hometown associations (HTAs) produce public goods in collaboration with sending state authorities, are associated with a higher probability of observing an armed vigilante group in a given community. More specifically, armed vigilante groups are more likely to operate in those municipalities where HTAs repeatedly participate in the formal co-provision of public goods with government authorities. Contrary to our theoretical expectations, we also find that the presence of vigilante groups does not appear to be driven by HTA's desire to protect their collective investments. We are not more likely to observe vigilante groups in those communities in which HTAs invest the most money. We argue that the positive relationship between frequent HTA participation in state programs that marshal collective remittances to produce public goods obtains because the processes that migrant-state collaboration entails enable community members to act collectively to provide self-help forms of security and justice for their communities.

Authors

• Lauren Duquette-Rury, Wayne State University

• Clarisa Perez-Armendariz, Bates College