Mayoral Homicide in Mexico: A Situational Analysis on the Victims, Perpetrators, and Locations of Attacks

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dc.contributor.authorEsparza, David Pérez
dc.contributor.authorMancera, Helden De Paz
dc.contributor.orgJames A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
dc.date.accessioned2018-10-02T15:53:18Z
dc.date.available2018-10-02T15:53:18Z
dc.descriptionThis paper seeks to identify the key factors that explain why local officials in Mexico — mayors, former mayors, mayors-elect and mayoral candidates — are being killed and to provide policy alternatives to address this important threat to Mexican democracy.
dc.description.abstractThis essay seeks to identify the key factors that explain why local officials—specifically mayors, former mayors, mayors-elect, and mayoral candidates—are being killed in Mexico. Second, it aims to provide a set of policy alternatives to tackle this important threat to Mexican democracy, particularly in the context of the 2018 electoral process. To accomplish this goal, the paper uses the routine activity theory (RAT) crime triangle methodology to examine who are the targeted officials (the victims), who are the attackers (the offenders), and where the attacks have occurred (the place). Since official records are nonexistent on the subject, open source intelligence (OSINT) techniques are used to create a database that includes all attacks against local officials, from the first case recorded in Mexico on July 8, 2004, to March 1, 2018, when the researchers ended their data gathering process. The paper presents 178 documented deadly attacks (i.e., homicides) against local officials. Additionally, the paper examines a number of specific variables that appear to increase the risk of attack. As the cases are not distributed homogenously either spatially or temporally, the authors discuss the role crime concentration plays in these attacks. In particular, the paper focuses on studying municipios (i.e., cities) with “repeat victimizations,”—in other words, places where two or more mayors have been killed. Evidence-based approaches to the problem are proposed for a useful understanding of these high-profile attacks. An informed examination of previous cases can help to implement successful interventions for mitigating future attacks.
dc.identifier.citationEsparza, David Pérez and Mancera, Helden De Paz. "Mayoral Homicide in Mexico: A Situational Analysis on the Victims, Perpetrators, and Locations of Attacks." (2018) James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy: <a href="https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/mayoral-homicides-mexico/">https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/mayoral-homicides-mexico/</a>.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/102768
dc.subjectMexico
dc.subjectorganized crime
dc.subjecthomicides
dc.subjectcrime triangle
dc.subjectmayors
dc.subjectlocal authorities
dc.subjectvictimization
dc.subjectpolitical violence
dc.subjectalcaldes
dc.titleMayoral Homicide in Mexico: A Situational Analysis on the Victims, Perpetrators, and Locations of Attacks
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