Violence Changes! Securitization And Territorial Configuration Of Organized Crime In Mexico, 2007-2011

Combating organized crime in all its forms, and particularly drug trafficking, is a key issue for public safety agencies around the world. In this context, the application of heavy-handed state policies (militarization, extradition, strengthening of security agencies) is a constant in Latin American countries. However, despite the attempts to reduce or eradicate it, Mexico is increasingly experiencing expressions of violence. In this article, we approach these expressions from a geographical perspective based on the spatial distribution of violent events recorded in the 2007-2011 period. We propose, as a working hypothesis, that the territorial distribution of violence during the period studied reflects a reconfiguration of criminal activity, which responds to a discursive process or "securitizacion" that legitimates the persecution against the drug business, and which in turn, modifies the forms in which the appropriation of the territory by the criminal groups takes place.