Opium Poppy Cultivation: Between Legal and Illegal Economies in Sinaloa

• In Event: The Politics of Illicit Markets

Abstract

This article examines the links between the opium poppy economy with legal economic activities in the state of Sinaloa. By looking into the organization of the tomato agroindustry in the state, one of the main business activities to date in Sinaloa, it offers an alternative explanation for the origin of the plaza as it is understood within drug trafficking activities. Rather than resulting from agreements among criminal actors or between criminal actors and the state, I show the plaza mirrors the organization adopted by distribution companies along the U.S.-Mexico border that began selling Sinaloa produce in the US in the early 20th century. The paper also calls into question the assumption of automatic criminal diversification as a result of price drops in drug markets. It shows that the profitability of the agroindustry in Sinaloa can absorb human capital providing legal sources of income for people temporarily employed in the opium economy. The paper also has implications for understanding variation in criminal violence, since by emulating processes from agroindustry groups can avoid engaging in other activities such as extortion.

Author

• Cecilia Farfan Mendez, University of California, San Diego