Education to combat corruption, violence, and crime in Mexico

• In Event: Round-Table Session 1
  In Round-table Session: Teacher Education and Educational Programming to Promote Peace and Conflict Resolution

Proposal

In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase of criminal violence in the shape of gunfire, homicides, kidnapping, and extortion in Mexico (Shirk & Wallman 2015). The escalation in drug-related crime has often been attributed to the so-called “War on Drugs,” a campaign initiated by the Mexican federal government in 2006 to combat organized and drug-related crime. However, pervasive violence and criminal activity have plagued Mexico long before the introduction of this contested policy, and at its center are deeply ingrained, systemic cultural values and norms, such as corruption, greed, and nepotism (Morris 2012). The acceptability and proliferation of these values and norms at the societal and political level further exacerbate the risks for violence and crime. This paper will examine the ways in which education can be used in Mexico to enable youth to reassess prevailing codes of conduct, discontinue the use of destructive ideologies and behaviors, and redefine appropriate cultural values and norms in order to create sustainable conditions of safety and peace.
Section One will use Hesie’s social ecology model as a heuristic tool to organize and examine the multifaceted factors that contribute to violence and crime in Mexico at the individual, family, community, and society levels. It will examine the effects of prolonged exposure to collective violence, organized crime, and corruption on the mental health and behavior of youth living in drug-related conflict zones in Mexico. At the family and community levels, it will examine how domestic and intrafamily violence, family disintegration, and school-related and gender-based violence such as bullying, abuse by teachers, and vulnerability for recruitment to gangs uniquely affect both girls and boys. At the societal level, the paper will discuss how Mexico’s social construction of masculinity and ‘machista’ culture contribute to violence and the ways in which economic disparities intensify risks of violence and crime. Section Two will provide a comprehensive comparative analysis of effective formal and informal education programs from similar contexts around the world with a particular focus on the global south that address issues of violence, crime, corruption, and inequality. The final section, will examine existing youth citizenship and peace education programs in Mexico and analyze their successes or shortcomings. Finally, Section Four will propose educational solutions to prevent and mitigate violence targeting students, families, communities, and out-of-school-youth in the context of Mexico.
The Mexican Drug War has taken a heavy toll on the political, economic, and social landscape of the country (Aguilar & Castañeda, 2012). Armed conflict, violence, and crime, whose effects were once limited to participants of the narcotics trade and government officials, have spread to affect journalists, activists, and civilians (Shirk & Wallman 2015). The “War on Drugs” has accomplished very little in terms of effectively curbing criminal activity (Grayson 2010) due in large part to detrimental ideologies and practices that exist intrinsically at the societal and political level. In order to create sustainable solutions of peace and welfare, there must be a focus on educational solutions developed through collaboration and dialogue.

Authors

• Ana Marcela Lozano, Harvard Graduate School of Education

• Renee Contreras, Harvard Graduate School of Education